Issue date: 14 Oct, 2010
Correos, within the Town Planning series devotes a stamp to Catalonian civil engineer, Ildefonso Cerdá, author of the extension of Barcelona (Ensanche). The stamp depicts a portrait of Cerdá from the collection of the Ateneu Barcelonés and in the background features his extension project. The original manuscript and map of the surroundings of Barcelona and its Reform and Widening Project of 1859, are part of the funds of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando (Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando) in Madrid.
The aim of the Ensanche of Barcelona was to remedy the housing shortage and the poor living and health conditions in the old historic centre of Barcelona. After a railway trip in southern France in 1844 he understood that mobility and communications were key elements to transform cities, hence the idea of expanding the city of Barcelona. In 1855, during the government of the Progressive Biennium and with the demolition of the walls of Barcelona, he was commissioned to develop the (Plano Topográphico de los alrededores de Barcelona) Topographical map of the surrounding areas of Barcelona. On occasion of this consignment he also presented a first draft of the Eixample, although he had to wait till 1859 to put forward the final draft which was approved in 1860. Cerdá designed the Ensanche of Barcelona as a new city following a grid pattern over the sloping plain leading to the sea, between the rivers Llobregat and Besós,. He conceived an open, egalitarian and modern city where circulation of all types and square blocks with chamfered corners and extensive green spaces were a priority.
The Ensanche or L'Eixample is located in the second district of Barcelona and occupies the central part of the city, over a wide area of 7.46 square km. In this district are the well known Paseo de Gracia y Sant Joan, streets and avenues such as Aragón, Balmes, Diagonal, Rambla de Catalunya and Gran Vía de les Corts Catalanes and squares such as Cataluña, Sagrada Familia, Gaudí, Francesc Macià and les Glories Catalanes. The famous buildings Casas Milà, Batlló and Punxes as well as the temple of the Sagrada Familia are also in this district.
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