1878

Lamp posts for Plaça Reial and Plaça de Palau

1878-1889

In 1878 the City Council commissioned Gaudí to design the lamp posts in Barcelona’s Plaça Reial. Gaudí presented the plans on 14 January 1879. After crafting the lamp posts, they were put in place on 24 September 1879.

Gaudí designed several six-armed gas lamp posts made of steel on a stone base with the coat of arms of the city of Barcelona emblazoned on the column. At the top, Gaudí placed the caduceus and the winged helmet of Mercury, the Roman god of commerce, alluding to the city’s trademark activity during the period of industrialisation.

In addition to the lamp posts in Plaza Real, Gaudí designed the lamp posts in Plaça de Palau in 1889, where two of them remain. The design of these lamp posts, simpler than the ones in Plaza Real, includes three arms topped by an inverted crown with two snake heads.