Pla de Palau Square
The Pla de Palau was long ago the main square of trading Barcelona, as it provided the only access from the sea to the city for people or merchandise through the Sea Gate. During the medieval period it became the centre of commercial exchange, hence a series of buildings related to trade were built within the square.
Casa Llotja de Mar
The Casa Llotja de Mar, located next to the Pla de Palau Square, was built in 1380. It was the meeting point of merchants in medieval times. It was later redesigned in the neoclassical style by the architect Joan Soler Faneca in 1772, following an order of the Reial Junta Particular de Comerç de Barcelona, an institution that regulated the trade activity of the city. The works were undertaken on top of an ancient gothic building, which had been used for the same activities.
Historically, the Casa Llotja de Mar has been the seat of the most important institutions of Catalan commerce. The building is today the corporate headquarters of the Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Shipping of Barcelona.
The ancient Saló dels Cònsols is one of its finest rooms of the Casa Llotja de Mar, open to the public, where medieval and neoclassic art coexist. In this room the Court of the Consulate of the Sea met on a regular basis. In the early 19th century this room housed educational institutions attached to the Board of Commerce. Later on, it also hosted the Academy of Fine Arts, which was responsible for the provision of public education in Barcelona. Relations with these organisms brought together some of the best artists of the period to undertaking the construction and decoration works of the building.