Port Vell

This strategic location was decisive in Barcelona's growth, for the city became established as a trading point between the two worlds and, eventually, the greatest maritime power in the Mediterranean, despite not possessing a port worthy of the name.

These storms made it extremely difficult to build an artificial harbour, because the huge amounts of sand and sediment deposited as a result of these phenomena damaged any work, whether ongoing or complete.

As the dike that sheltered the harbour was extended in various stages to the south and southwest of Maians Island, sand was also deposited in large quantities on the beach to the southeast of the Ciutadella.

An enormous sandbank between the dike's end and what is now Plaça del Portal de la Pau made it necessary to close the port, trapping some of the anchored ships.

However, a newly formed sandbank showed that even this was not sufficient, and the dike was enlarged once more, whilst an outer harbour wall was also built and the port mouth was moved to what is now the West Dock, or Moll de Ponent.

This dock later housed Torre Jaume I, the cable car tower for the Port Vell Aerial Tramway, built across the harbor for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, a World's fair, but opened only in 1931.

The plan pays particular attention to the last of these, the Port Vell, with a view to reviving a historic old site made obsolete by large-scale extension work in recent decades and relegated to serving traditional purposes.