Women of Barcelona

This tour will reveal the lives of Barcelonian women throughout the time, both of the outstanding and the most unknown ones. Get to know the ins and outs of historical women who lived and passed by Barcelona. Remember Roman women, starting with the local saint and martyr Saint Eulalia, or Gala Placidia: Empress, daughter, sister, and mother of emperors. Learn about Emma, the daughter of Guifré el Pilós (“The Hairy”) and first abbess of the Monastery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses, or pioneers of medicine like the Jewish Na Flor, a professional of women medicine, a tradition inherited by the “remeieres” or healers, who even have their own street in Barcelona.

Explore with our guides the history of women involved in politics, like the medieval Elisenda de Montcada, or the dark age of the Spanish Inquisition’s witch hunt. Hear about how women were part of the city’s Arts scene: opera singers, composers like Luisa Casagemas – first Spanish female opera writer -, the great Carmen Amaya – the legendary flamenco dancer-, or Margarita Xirgú, the superb theatre performer who was a muse for Lorca. Get to know also those famous characters of the streets of Barcelona, like “La Moños”, Enriqueta Martí “The Vampire of Barcelona”, or “Marieta de l’ull viu”, and revolutionary powerful women, like “la dinamitera” (the dynamiter) or Federica Montseny, first woman who got to be Secretary of State in West Europe, in 1936. This tour is a necessary tribute to the memory of Barcelona’s women.

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