It is said that a city has embraced a sculpture when some of its parts begin to shine and a new superstition appears among the locals. Well, this did not happen right away with the Raval Cat. It had to move around Barcelona four times from place to place before it finally settled in the very center of the city - on Rambla del Raval. Now it is hard to miss, and some people even come specifically to see it.
This bronze cat weighs almost two tons! And its size exceeds human height: the length from nose to tail is 7 meters, and the height is 2.5 meters. The Raval Cat's whiskers have been polished to a shine - visitors happily rub them while making wishes. Some even used to tear them off to take them away as souvenirs, but now the authorities have made sure the whiskers are properly welded on.
Meanwhile, the locals came up with a new superstition according to which you need to give another part of its body (under the tail) a good rub in order to return to Barcelona once again. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Tourists do the same thing with the bull on Wall Street in New York.
"Charging Bull," New York. Flickr, lighto.
The author of the famous kitty is Fernando Botero. He is from Colombia and often calls himself "the most Colombian of Colombian artists." His works can be found in different cities around the world, with especially many of them in Madrid and Barcelona. All of his sculptures are quite "plump" and, like the Raval Cat, have pleasantly rounded shapes.
"Woman with Mirror," Madrid. Flickr, MADRID la ciudad.
You can find out what else is interesting to see in Barcelona with the help of the interactive map of attractions. There you can build an itinerary for an independent walk around the city. And if you do not like planning anything, use our Barcelona guides:
You will find descriptions of all Barcelona attractions, ready-made walking routes, and even an audio guide to La Rambla in the Ever.Travel mobile app. Download the trip for offline use, and you will be able to use your personal guide even without an internet connection, which is very important when roaming. Read more about this in our review.
