The best Barcelona legends aren’t always hidden inside museums or famous monuments.
Sometimes, all it takes is a tiny alleyway or an old stone staircase to discover a legend that has been told for generations.
After exploring the cursed skull of Pont del Bisbe and the Vampire of the Raval in Part 1, let’s continue our journey through Barcelona’s mysterious past.
Carrer dels Petons: A Street of Love and Final Goodbyes
In the Ribera neighbourhood, close to El Born, there’s a tiny dead-end alley called carrer dels Petons, meaning the Street of Kisses.
One popular story says that couples once met here to exchange secret kisses, away from curious neighbours.
But another legend tells a much sadder tale.
According to local folklore, prisoners condemned to death were led towards the old military Citadel, and this little alley was supposedly where they could share one last kiss with their loved ones.
It’s a haunting story, although there’s no historical evidence that these farewells actually took place here.
Another explanation suggests that the street’s name may have evolved from the surname of a former resident, Joan Pontons.
Secret romance, heartbreaking goodbyes or simply a neighbour’s name? The stories remain part of the alley’s charm.
The Devil of Santa Maria del Pi: The Hundredth Step
The bell tower of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Pi has stood over Barcelona’s historic centre for centuries.
But according to a local legend, its construction involved a rather unusual agreement.
The story goes that the master builder couldn’t complete the tower because parts of the structure kept collapsing.
Desperate, he supposedly made a deal with the devil: Lucifer would help him finish the work, but would claim his soul when the staircase reached its hundredth step.
The builder, however, had a trick up his sleeve.
He stopped at step 99, ensuring that the devil could never collect his reward.
Some versions of the legend say that when the tower was eventually completed, a mysterious mark appeared on the hundredth step, believed by some to be the devil’s own footprint.
The mark was reportedly removed or covered, but the story survived.
There’s no historical evidence of a supernatural pact, of course. It’s simply one of the fascinating legends associated with Barcelona’s medieval buildings.
And perhaps that’s what makes exploring this city so special: behind an ordinary street name or an old staircase, there might be a story you never expected.
I hope you’ve enjoyed exploring another mysterious corner of Barcelona.
Bye Bye! See you in my next post!
