Barcelona seen through the eyes of 1,200 individuals from all over the world over the course of 2,000 years. The definitive anthology of accounts of the city of Barcelona and the last book written by Lluís Permanyer, marking the end of an exhaustive research endeavour.

Over the course of almost four decades, Lluís Permanyer patiently, persistently and passionately collected hundreds of quotes on Barcelona written by people from all over the world. He published the first collection in 1993, then a second, expanded edition in 2007. This is the third and final instalment in his tireless search for figures who have encountered Barcelona, set foot in it or lived there and have expressed their impressions of the city. The book contains 1,200 written and oral quotes and accounts from a period of 2,000 years.

Permanyer offers a plural, personal and often novel perspective on the city, full of diverse voices, surprising discoveries and forgotten stories. The result of this research, carried out with the help of readers and collaborators, is more than a collection of quotes. It is an invitation to rediscover the city through the words of others, to look at it with the eyes of someone seeing it for the first time, to be surprised by the plurality of perspectives that have gradually painted the picture of Barcelona, with all its light and shade.

La Campana published Cites i testimonis sobre Barcelona in 1993. In 2007, Barcelona City Council and La Campana published an expanded collection, under the title 1.000 testimonis sobre Barcelona. The book you are holding now is an expansion of this 2007 edition.