Cerdà wanted to avoid repeating the costful mistakes made in the walled city in the Eixample, so he studied it thoroughly. This linked statistics to urban planning for the first time and showed that during epidemics, the number of deaths increased in narrower streets. That is why he designed the Eixample with a road network at least twenty metres wide. Domènech i Montaner criticised him, proclaiming that it would be impossible to live with the draughts that would result from it.
This itinerary shows details that reveal a walled city suffocated by an unbearable density surpassed only by Calcutta. It begins at Carrer de les Caputxes 6, where an intensity that attracted draughtsmen, painters and photographers is concentrated. A double arcade allowed him to extend his house with a huge addition. The façade was staggered to gain space – the same procedure was imitated next door, at number 5. The City Council prohibited this construction, which stifled public space. Between these two buildings and the façade of Santa Maria del Mar there was a cemetery, which was converted into a square.
Argenteria, the most prestigious guild street, tolerated the construction of houses on streets, such as Brosolí, Junyí and Gíriti; the latter name is a deformation of ‘Gíra-t’hi’ (turn around), because it is so narrow and angular. The route to Montcada is full of kerbstones on the corners to protect them from being knocked down by carts. One-way streets were introduced, as shown by the sign on the corner of Mirallers and Sombrerers. We can see more kerbstones on Canvis Vells and Sombrerers. We pass in front of Carrer de las Mosques, the narrowest of all, at 1.10 m. In 1441 it was named after the dirt that accumulated there. We enter Carrer Arc de Sant Vicenç, with a building raised above the void of the road, and when we turn onto Carrer Seca, we find the same aberrant practice. The name of the latter corresponds to the historic mint, a space that was renovated to house the Brossa Foundation. We turn another corner, onto Carrer de la Cirera, to finally enter Flassaders and rejoin Carrer de les Mosques. Suffocating!
