Church of Santa Maria Reina, Renaissance Revival church in Les Corts, Barcelona, Spain.
The Church of Santa Maria Reina is a Renaissance Revival church building in the Pedralbes neighborhood of Barcelona, featuring two cloisters and a dome that draws attention from the street. A bell tower rises above the rest of the structure and is visible from several surrounding streets.
The church was built between 1922 and 1936, funded by a private patron named Josep Nicolau d'Olzina, who planned it to serve both as a residence for monks from Montserrat and as his own burial place. This double purpose shaped the layout of the building from the very beginning.
The entrance portico displays paintings of the Virgin Mary, Saint Eulalia, and Saint George, three figures deeply rooted in Catalan religious life. Visitors stepping inside encounter this imagery right away, which gives the building a strong local religious character from the first moment.
The church sits in the Pedralbes neighborhood, a quiet residential area in the upper part of Barcelona, within walking distance of a metro stop. Regular religious services take place inside, so it is worth planning your visit at a time when no ceremony is scheduled.
The dome was modeled on the Florence Baptistery of San Giovanni, while the chapel echoes Filippo Brunelleschi's Pazzi Chapel from Santa Croce. Two separate Florentine references were brought together in a single building in Barcelona.
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