The year 1772 was when the Port of Barcelona lighthouse came into operation. Its construction had begun in 1751 at the tip of the dike that was being built to expand the facilities, in the part that extended furthest into the sea at that time. Of neoclassical style, the lighthouse was designed with a square base and a truncated pyramidal tower, with the lantern crowning the building. At that time, it was one of only three lighthouses built with stone ---and in operation--- in all of Spain.
The new lighthouse played a relevant role during the 17th and 19th centuries. It was so important that the mathematician and astronomer Jean-Baptiste Joseph Delambre and the geographer and astronomer Pierre Méchain used it to measure the length of the arc of the meridian, from the northern French port city of Dunkerque to Barcelona. The observations obtained from this geodetic vertex by this pair of researchers served to establish the decimal metric system. As if that weren't enough, one of the most relevant figures in the city's history, the engineer Ildefons Cerdà, took the port lighthouse as a reference to design the Avenues of Paral·lel and Meridiana in the plan that served to create the Eixample.
This uniqueness and prominence were very soon surpassed by the consecutive expansions that took place in the Port of Barcelona during the 19th century. Each time, the lighthouse was further away from the port entrance. Added to this was the entry into service of the Llobregat lighthouse in 1852, at that time, in the municipality of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and, subsequently, integrated into the Zona Franca de Barcelona, causing the second city of Catalonia to lose its only access route to the sea. It was also replaced by the new Montjuïc lighthouse. It was then that the extinguishing of the Barcelona lantern and the demolition of the tower that housed it were considered.
Despite everything, the port institution decided to keep the lighthouse, but converting its use at the beginning of the 20th century. The lantern was replaced by a clock with four large faces. It was intended to tell the time to navigators and port workers, as well as to the residents of Barceloneta and anyone passing through that part of the city.
The 250 years of history that the Clock Tower has lived, protected as a cultural asset of local interest, will be the protagonists of a temporary exhibition in the Portal de la Pau, with the participation of historian Joan Alemany and made up of different old images, and of various acts to make it known to the citizenry. The celebration coincides with the reform of the Fishermen's Wharf, which will allow the old lighthouse to be visited and located in a public access space. Currently, it is located within a closed enclosure guarded by the Port Police where only fishermen and professionals of the sector have access.
"One of the tasks of the Port is to preserve the port heritage because it is everyone's heritage. We are doing it in historical buildings, such as the lighthouses that depend on the Port of Barcelona, establishing agreements with the city councils where they are present to open them to the citizenry. And we have done it in the case of the Clock Tower, in which a complete maintenance of its interior and exterior elements has been carried out, trying to preserve the original elements as much as possible, which includes the restoration of the second clock mechanism," explains its president, Damià Calvet. In this sense, this Wednesday the new lighting of the Clock Tower has been turned on, with the colors blue and yellow, those of Barceloneta, but also those of the flag of Ukraine.
The celebration coincides with the reform of the Fishermen's Wharf, which will allow the old lighthouse to be visited and located in a public access spaceThe transformation that this area of the Port of Barcelona is experiencing also includes the project to build a new Fishermen's Market and the redevelopment of a port area of more than 24,000 square meters that will be opened to the public, with an investment of eight million euros.The project for the new fish market has been carried out by the OAB architecture studio, led by Carlos and Lucía Ferrater.The works are expected to begin at the end of the year and last for 17 months, with the new building scheduled to open in 2024.
The new fish market will also be open to visitors thanks to the construction of an exterior walkway that will allow the activity of fishermen and auctions to be combined with the presence of the public. The walkway will start next to the Clock Tower and run along the entire building. Likewise, citizens will be able to buy fish at the market itself, either to take home or to have it cooked immediately at the future seafood restaurant that will also be built on the new Fishermen's Pier.