The history of the panot of Barcelona
Culture 25/09/2024
The streets of Barcelona are distinguished for various reasons, one of the most notable being the presence of panots, which display a flower in the centre. These small 20x20 cm and 4 cm thick tiles have become an emblematic symbol of the city, inspiring a variety of products in souvenir shops.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Barcelona was nicknamed "Can Fanga" due to the large accumulation of mud on the pavements. Satirical magazines such as *L'Esquella de la Torratxa* reflected this bad reputation through cartoons, such as the one presented here.
Faced with the growing negative perception of the city, the Ensanche Commission implemented various measures to make the sidewalks uniform. An economical and effective solution was adopted that some residents had already begun to use: hydraulic cement, which allowed the creation of mosaics and textures on the streets, better adapting to the fragmented and uneven urbanization of the city. It was also cheap, versatile, produced in the city and allowed designs to be made on its surface.
Each resident was responsible for paving the 2.5 metres in front of their home with the material authorised by the City Council, which included asphalt, natural stone or cement.
In 1906, the City Council launched a public competition to standardise the designs of the “panots”; 10,000 square metres of tiles were manufactured, together with a sample of designs, the origin of which was not documented. Five models of tiles were standardised: the flower tile, the skull tile, the concentric circle tile, the four-block tile with four circles and, finally, the four-block tile, the most widely used in the streets of Barcelona.
This contest was won by the company ESCOFET .
The hydraulic mosaics of Modernisme that Escofet created together with architects such as Lluís Domènech i Montaner and Alexandre de Riquer, have their best example in the Hexagonal Mosaic that Antoni Gaudí made for the interior of Casa Batlló. An adaptation of the same model would pave the Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona 90 years later.
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The Panot Gaudí, present on Passeig de Gràcia, shows his genius: with a single piece you can create an infinite mosaic of marine elements.
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The latest new pavement is on Avenida Diagonal, designed by Robert and Esteve Terrades, and incorporates banana leaves in its structure. Its installation in 2015 generated controversy, as it initially raised complaints about slipping and the discomfort of the relief. After six months, repairs were necessary due to the high number of broken tiles.
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In the hall of Casa Amatller, on Passeig de Gràcia, the floor is covered with slabs designed by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch.
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Also fascinating is the vestige hidden in Ganduxer Street, where a trial of a new model with the B for Barcelona was carried out in 2008, which has not been successful. This model was an initiative of Barcelona City Council, which sought to introduce a new panot design with the aim of welcoming the new millennium and modernising the city.
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Despite the diversity of panots that can be found in Barcelona, finding four of the five existing designs together is quite difficult, although not impossible. A Twitter user (@jm_allue) shared a photograph on his account in which four of the five tile designs in the city can be seen: the flower, the four lozenges, the four lozenges with a circle and the concentric circles.
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If you want to take home a souvenir from Barcelona, don't miss out on all the products you can find in many Barcelona shops with the aforementioned panot, from mugs and t-shirts, to chocolates, jewellery, bags, key chains, pencils and many more items.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Barcelona was nicknamed "Can Fanga" due to the large accumulation of mud on the pavements. Satirical magazines such as *L'Esquella de la Torratxa* reflected this bad reputation through cartoons, such as the one presented here.
Faced with the growing negative perception of the city, the Ensanche Commission implemented various measures to make the sidewalks uniform. An economical and effective solution was adopted that some residents had already begun to use: hydraulic cement, which allowed the creation of mosaics and textures on the streets, better adapting to the fragmented and uneven urbanization of the city. It was also cheap, versatile, produced in the city and allowed designs to be made on its surface.
Each resident was responsible for paving the 2.5 metres in front of their home with the material authorised by the City Council, which included asphalt, natural stone or cement.
In 1906, the City Council launched a public competition to standardise the designs of the “panots”; 10,000 square metres of tiles were manufactured, together with a sample of designs, the origin of which was not documented. Five models of tiles were standardised: the flower tile, the skull tile, the concentric circle tile, the four-block tile with four circles and, finally, the four-block tile, the most widely used in the streets of Barcelona.
This contest was won by the company ESCOFET .
The hydraulic mosaics of Modernisme that Escofet created together with architects such as Lluís Domènech i Montaner and Alexandre de Riquer, have their best example in the Hexagonal Mosaic that Antoni Gaudí made for the interior of Casa Batlló. An adaptation of the same model would pave the Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona 90 years later.
The Panot Gaudí, present on Passeig de Gràcia, shows his genius: with a single piece you can create an infinite mosaic of marine elements.
.The latest new pavement is on Avenida Diagonal, designed by Robert and Esteve Terrades, and incorporates banana leaves in its structure. Its installation in 2015 generated controversy, as it initially raised complaints about slipping and the discomfort of the relief. After six months, repairs were necessary due to the high number of broken tiles.
In the hall of Casa Amatller, on Passeig de Gràcia, the floor is covered with slabs designed by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch.
Also fascinating is the vestige hidden in Ganduxer Street, where a trial of a new model with the B for Barcelona was carried out in 2008, which has not been successful. This model was an initiative of Barcelona City Council, which sought to introduce a new panot design with the aim of welcoming the new millennium and modernising the city.
Despite the diversity of panots that can be found in Barcelona, finding four of the five existing designs together is quite difficult, although not impossible. A Twitter user (@jm_allue) shared a photograph on his account in which four of the five tile designs in the city can be seen: the flower, the four lozenges, the four lozenges with a circle and the concentric circles.
If you want to take home a souvenir from Barcelona, don't miss out on all the products you can find in many Barcelona shops with the aforementioned panot, from mugs and t-shirts, to chocolates, jewellery, bags, key chains, pencils and many more items.
