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The fountains at Plaça Catalunya work again on their summer timetable
Plaça Catalunya regains one of its most recognisable sights. The three ornamental fountains in Barcelona's central space are working again after two months of works, right in the height of summer and at one of the busiest points for residents, tourists and workers.
The City Council has reactivated the two Fonts Bessones and the Font dels Sis Putti after completing waterproofing work intended to prevent water leaks. With the reopening, the fountains return to their summer schedule: from 12:00 to 22:00, every day of the week.
The intervention required the basins to be emptied, elements of the fountains to be dismantled, cracks to be sealed, the interior paving to be renewed and a comprehensive waterproofing treatment to be applied. It was not an aesthetic intervention, but work needed to ensure that the system could operate without losses or damage to the structure.
The Font dels Sis Putti also returns with a visible improvement: new lighting with coloured lights. The change will allow the fountain to have a greater presence during the afternoon and evening, in a square that is a constant crossroads between La Rambla, Portal de l’Àngel, Passeig de Gràcia and Ronda Universitat.
The reopening also has symbolic value. During the years of drought, Barcelona had to close or limit the operation of many ornamental fountains to reduce public water consumption. In Plaça Catalunya, the fountains had been open for about a year before this new stoppage for works.
The return of the water changes the experience of the square, especially in the hot months. Although they are not places to cool off or touch the water, the fountains provide movement, sound and a visual sense of relief in one of the toughest and busiest settings in the centre.
The Fonts Bessones are located in the mountain-side section of the square, next to the gallery of statues from the 1929 Universal Exhibition. They were built in 1959 and form part of the everyday landscape of generations of Barcelona residents.
The Font dels Sis Putti, located at the end nearest Portal de l’Àngel, is older. It was built in 1926 by the sculptor Jaume Otero and represents the birth of Venus. Its composition, with three pools at different levels and cascading water, makes it one of the square’s most singular ornamental features.
The City Council does, however, remind people that ornamental fountains are not bathing areas. The water operates in recirculation circuits, is not fit for consumption and entry inside is prohibited for safety reasons.
The warning is significant on days of intense heat, when some urban water points may seem tempting to residents or visitors. In this case, the fountains are meant to be looked at, not used as an improvised swimming pool.
Plaça Catalunya thus returns to a certain visual normality after weeks of works. In a city full of transformations, closures and refurbishments, the restoration of these fountains returns a simple but highly recognisable scene to the centre: moving water, people crossing the square and an urban icon working again.
For Barcelona, it is not just a technical repair. It is the return of an element that helps us understand the square as more than a transit space. The fountains do not solve the heat or the noise of the centre, but they make one of the city’s most trodden places a little less dry, less harsh and more liveable.