[2] The building was constructed between 1881 and 1904 under the supervision of the architects Josep Domènech i Estapà and Salvador Vinyals i Sabaté [ca], and based on the panopticon "model" prison design proposed in 1787 by the utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham.

[4] The motto of its board was In severitate humanitas (Humanity in severity) and revealed a new penitentiary conception according to which punishment was no longer conceived as revenge or intimidation and became, increasingly, a mechanism for social reintegration.

Famous political prisoners housed there include Francesc Ferrer, Lluís Companys, Salvador Seguí and Helios Gómez.

[5] The prominent transgender activist Silvia Reyes (1949–2024) was imprisoned here for being a "transvestite" (the then-current term for a trans woman) in 1974 before being trasferred to Carabanchel Prison in Madrid.

Three days later, hours before the entrance of fascist troops into the city, all of the remaining prisoners were liberated, including both members of the nationalist faction and militants of the CNT and the POUM.