La Merce or Our Lady of Mercy in Barcelona: A Brief History

What better to commemorate the festivities of Our Lady of Mercy or Mare de Déu de la Mercè or Virgen de la Merced than showing the Virgin itself.

This is the way she appears on top of the church that goes by the same name. As you know every September 24th Barcelona honors La Merce with numerous activities all over the city.

I just wanted to say that La Mercè is of course one of the many ways to refer to the Virgin Mary. According to religious scriptures she appeared to Pedro Nolasco in the form of Our Lady of Mercy and commanded him to found the Mercedarian Order. She carried two bags of coins to pay the ransom of Christians caught by the Moors. That's why she is also known as the Lady of Ransom. The order was officially constituted by King James of Aragon in Barcelona on August 10, 1218 and approved by Pope Gregory IX on 17 January 1325. Although the Virgin manifested on August 1st, the date was later changed (1696) to September 24th.

Find an image of Mare de Deu de la Merce in another post.

Rose Window, Santa Maria del Pi Church, Barcelona

This is a detail of the rose window at Santa Maria del Pi, a 14th-century Catalan Gothic church in Barri Gotic quarter, Barcelona. It is near Las Ramblas and La Boqueria market on Sant Josep Oriol square. Do you want to stand on the square and take a 360º look? check the Santa Maria del Pi virtual tour. You will notice that today's picture is perhaps more dramatic than the original. Find the church on a Flickr map.

Barri Gotic Musicians: A Little Chat

Musician in Barri Gotic, Barcelona

Musicians like Barri Gotic to perform.

The narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona are pleasant to stay in the shade, away from nearby noisy streets. Besides, acoustics is great.

Many times there are small groups playing on the same site as they are supposed to play on spots assigned by local authorities. So you probably meet the very same artist depending on what time of the day or the week you visit a determined street.

This man here was about to start and was having a little chat. There was this sun ray falling directly on his head acting as a natural spotlight. If you want to know more or check a full view of the street don't miss: Barri Gotic: Street Musicians Paradise?