The City Council offers the presentation of the book ‘Barcelona: A City Built On Its Archives’
The Saló de Cent at Barcelona City Hall hosted the presentation on Tuesday of book Barcelona: A City Built On Its Archives. The History of the Barcelona Municipal Archive (1249-2025), a work by Ramon Alberch tracing the history of the city through the evolution of its archive. Participating in the presentation were the Deputy Mayor for Security, Prevention, Internal Affairs and Coexistence. Albert Batlle; the Director General for Heritage with the Government of Catalonia, Joaquim Borràs, and the Chief Archivist with Barcelona City Council, Ana Pazos. Also taking part, in a round table format, were the book’s author, Ramon Alberch; the author of the prologue, Vicenç Villatoro, and the editor of the magazine L’Avenç, Núria Iceta.
The book aims to affirm the fundamental role that the Barcelona Municipal Archive has had in constructing the city’s identity and protecting its documentary heritage, a key element in guaranteeing rigorous and transparent public management. The work not only points to the importance of documentary heritage as an instrument for memory and governance, but also recognises the historical task of archive professionals, who have worked for centuries to preserve, organise and facilitate access to this information.
The publication of the book coincides with the International Archives Congress – ICA Barcelona 2025, organised by the International Council on Archives with the support of the Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Council, Barcelona Provincial Council, the Ministry of Culture and the Association of Professionals of Archives and Records Management of Catalonia. In this context, the Barcelona Municipal Archive chose to present this publication which looks at eight centuries of documentary history in the city. The study highlights the key role of the archive as a holder of collective memory and as a tool for transparency.
Barcelona: A City Built On Its Archives is a digital book available in three languages (Catalan, Spanish and English), free to download in the following attachments.
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