“L’Encís del comerç emblemàtic”, a journey back in time through traditional shops

Barcelona has a great heritage created by old retail establishments. Shops that form part of the city's identity. The book “L’Encís del comerç emblemàtic”, published with illustrations by Patrícia Soler, captures the charm of these shops and proposes a journey back in time round different neighbourhoods to rediscover the traditional retail trade.

“When commerce becomes emblematic it creates civic identity”, noted Josep Fornés, director of the Museu Etnològic de Barcelona at the presentation ceremony on Tuesday 20 February at the Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria. The anthropologist was highlighting how commerce creates identities. Names of traditional establishments immediately create “emotions and associations that are capable of transcending time, of letting loose the imagination and taking us back to the happy moments of those of us who make the city”. In the opinion of Fornés, the city of Barcelona “sees itself in festivals and protests, on every balcony with the flower pots just watered, but also in the marvellously decorated displays of each shop and each fruit stall”. Commerce is also a symbol.  

The book, promoted by the Department of Commerce and published by Barcelona City Council in the “Carnet de Viatge” collection, is an initiative that helps to preserve these establishments. “We are preserving our heritage which, in fact, is preserving our city”, pointed out Agustí Colom, the City Councillor for Tourism, Commerce and Markets.

"A little book which is very big and shows the scope of emblematic commerce", said Mercè Garcia, Director of Commerce at Barcelona City Council, alluding to the number of emblematic establishments around the the city, of which the book offers a selection in its 84 pages.

Journey back in time

The artist and writer Patrícia Soler is the author of the illustrations in the book, which is, in her words, the definition of a “journey back in time”. During the creative process, she had the opportunity to open the door of shops whose origins in some cases lie in the 19th century, because the establishment’s interior and furniture take you there, to talk with the owners, generations from whom she learned stories of the shop from the 20th century, and then come back out on the street well into the 21st century. And she adds: “A journey you can do with the T-10 ticket, if you want. It’s nice planning a morning or afternoon in the neighbourhood you wish to get to know”, she says, “and see its traditional shops. Like a day out.” Patrícia Soler sees her book as a rediscovery of Barcelona’s shops. A great invitation to get to know them.