Museu d’Història de la Ciutat Assignment

Museu d’Història de la Ciutat

The Catalan buildings throughout Barcelona have a strong influence from the Romans. For example, in Roman times there were buildings that had three different windows in a vertical line. Inside the window closet to the ground is where the wealthy would live. Above them, at the top window, is where the people who served the occupants on the lower level lived. Today, the types of people occupying the rooms may not be the same but the structure of those three windows is present on many Catalan buildings. Also, the narrow winding streets that lead to the center of the city are still present in Barcelona today as they were in Roman times.

Through the years, polytheism changed over to monotheism. The Romans worshiped a number of different gods. Through time, the saints began to take the place of these gods and the church began to grow. This change has had a big cultural impact. Many cities have a patron saint that is very important to their city. The patroness of Catalunya is La Moreneta. In many places these saints are looked at more than Jesus.

The roman decorative art is present in a number of Catalan buildings around Barcelona. The roman pillars are one of the more obvious structures that are present in a number of the buildings. For example, in front of Montjuric stands Les Quatre Columnes, four columns that represent the four stripes of the Catalan senyera. These roman pillars also appear in some of the most important American architecture.  For example, the Lincoln Memorial and the Capital building display these pillars.  The Temple of Augustus in Barcelona is a good representation of a roman structure. There are the pillars but there is also the triangle shaped roof with decorative art on the ends. This roman design is also present on the Thomas Jefferson Memorial is America. This building also has a sphere shaped top and is very similar to the Pantheon. Many of these roman designs are present today because of Neoclassicism. Designs just began to be recycled throughout time so they still appear today.

El Tablinum

Vat

Some of the domestic objects included el tablinum, la lacuna fullonica, el vat, la dolia, the wine duct, clay wine glasses, clay pots for cooking, and the tools for makeup. Many of these objects were very interesting. Their laundry devices were very similar to what is used today. La lacuna fullonica was a rinsing vat for fabrics that had a drain. Also, the vat used ashes, lime, and ammonia, for washing and bleaching fabrics. El tablinum was said to be like “their version of the ipad” back in their time. Also la dolia was interesting because it was used to make and store garum. 

Wine Duct

The Romans left a great impact on the wine culture of Catalunya today. Wine played a great deal in the lives of the Romans. Wine was drank regularly throughout the Romans lives. There was even a god of wine, Bacchus. Many times wine was drunk out of pleasure but people also looked at it as a necessity. Wine wanted to be brought into the church. However, wine was drunk at orgies and other unholy events so the church did not want it in their place of worship. In order to have wine present in church there needed to be a holy aspect about it. In turn, the wine became the blood of Christ. This wine culture has stayed present in Catalunya today. Alcorta and Brut Zero are two popular wines found in Catalunya today.