To Francesc Rius i Taulet

Introduction:
Francesc de Paula Rius i Taulet was mayor of Barcelona for the Liberal Monarchist party in four different phases, the last of which was during the Exhibition. Two years after the event, in 1890, Rius i Taulet died. Shortly after, this monument was erected in which his urban initiative is highlighted. Designed again by Pere Falqués and with Manuel Fluxà responsible for the sculptures, this monument does not explain how Rius i Taulet's management and his council led the City Hall to a financial ruin from which it took years to recover.

Content:
"Do what you must, even if you owe what you do." This was the response that Rius i Taulet gave to Catalan journalists who asked about the economic expenditure involved in the Exhibition. The quote shows the two sides of the mayor with prominent sideburns, who delighted the satirical newspapers of the time. He certainly had drive and wanted to push the project forward, but he also left the City Hall with heavy debts as a consequence of the event. Catalan industrialists and the Spanish Government, after long negotiations, brilliantly novelized by Eduardo Mendoza in "The City of Prodigies," also contributed financially to the Exhibition. Rumor has it that Madrid contributed enough so that the Catalans could not say they had done it alone, but not enough to avoid municipal indebtedness. Be that as it may, the Exhibition represented, for the first time, an opening of the city towards the sea with the creation of the Paseo de Colón, which went from the monument to the "discoverer" to the entrance of the Citadel. At this time, the public lighting of Las Ramblas and the Paseo Colón itself was also electrified. The City Hall initiated several initiatives to attract foreign visitors to the exhibition, which was advertised throughout Europe. The train from France was offered at half price, and it was planned for one hundred officers from the Urban Guard to learn French in order to communicate with tourists. This measure was highly praised in the press, which considered it very useful. In the current Calle Pujades, in front of the Citadel entrance, there was one of the major attractions of the Exhibition, the roller coasters.

More information:

Mendoza, Eduardo "La Ciudad de los Prodigios" Seix Barral, 1986.

Rutes científiques de Barcelona