Palau de la Virreina
The Palau de la Virreina rises from Barcelona’s La Rambla as a late-18th-century house with political power built into its very name. It was constructed between 1772 and 1778 for Manuel d’Amat i de Junyent, Viceroy of Peru from 1761 to 1776, and it is named for his wife—*virreina*, meaning vicereine in Catalan. Architecturally, the palace sits between baroque and rococo tastes, reflecting a shift toward the lighter, more decorative Rococo language. The designer was Carles Grau, also described as a sculptor, who created the window hoods and the vases that decorate the building’s skyline. Today, the palace functions as a cultural headquarters: it houses the Institut de Cultura de Barcelona (ICUB) and hosts temporary art exhibitions and cultural events. Outside, a statue of Our Lady of the Rosary, made by Luisa Granero in 1967, adds a modern layer of devotion to the building’s older imperial story.
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