Monument to Francesc Macià

Located in Plaça de Catalunya in Barcelona, this monument was inaugurated on December 25, 1991, in honor of Francesc Macià i Llussà (1859–1933), president of the Generalitat of Catalonia. Designed by the artist Josep Maria Subirachs, it combines a bronze bust of Macià, inspired by the model sculpted by Josep Clarà in 1932, with a monumental inverted staircase, symbolizing Catalonia’s projection into the future. The project was long and complex: first proposed in 1977, it involved public fundraising, competitions, and political controversy before coming to fruition. Initially planned for the upper part of the square, it was ultimately placed on the lower level. Today, it interacts with Clarà’s Deessa, moved behind the monument and softened by a pond. Made of marble, corten steel, concrete, and bronze, the ensemble highlights the contrast between the contemporary austerity of Subirachs’s style and the noucentista elegance of Clarà.