The shield of the Barça football team in the stained glass of a Medieval church.
This is the Santa Maria del Mar basilica in Barcelona, built in the 14th century. It’s one of the most beloved churches in Barcelona because it was built by the nieghnourhood. While most churches were built with the donation of a rich family, Santa Maria del Mar was built by everyone: those who had some money donated it, and those who didn’t have money donated their work.
This basilica has been through a lot: earthquakes, wars, fires… For this reason, the stained glasses have had to be changed multiple times until 1428, when an earthquake struck all Catalonia and destroyed Santa Maria del Mar’s rose window killing 30 people. But the last time that the stained glass were destroyed was in 1936, when an anti-clerical anarchist group set fire to the church, which burnt for a whole week. Luckily, there were descriptions and engravings of the original stained glass, so they could be rebuilt during the 20th century. One of the organizations that helped fund the reparations was Barça, so their shield was added to the details at the window of the second floor at the left of the altar.
Photos by Javier Flores in National Geographic
