VILA DE GRACIA SQUARE
Description
Plaça Vila de Gràcia, known by locals as the Plaça de Oriente (Oriental Square), is the administrative centre of Vila de Gràcia.
An imposing 33 metre high clock tower presides over it and astounds us upon entering. The tower was built between 1862 and 1864 by Antoni Rovira i Trias and is composed of an octagonal tower and sphered clock on four of its corners.
The local town hall is located here with its back facing the sea and is the work of Francesc Berenguer i Mestres. Restored recently, on its façade two streetlights strike us with their unique marine motif and the Vila coat of armour in wrought iron: three white lilies on a blue field.
This square has had four official names: Orient, Constitució, Rius i Taulet and its current name, but locals prefer to call it: «Plaça del Campanari», «Plaça de la Vila» and/or «Plaça Orient». It’s not uncommon to hear it called “Plaça del Rellotje” (Clock Tower Plaza).
A square that is watched over not only by its inhabitants, but the many tourists that every afternoon fill the terraces that line the square.
