Reial Acadèmia de Ciències i Arts de Barcelona

The Reial Acadèmia de Ciències i Arts de Barcelona is a Catalan academy in Barcelona devoted to science and the arts. Its building, designed by Josep Domènech i Estapà, was completed in 1894. Founded in 1764, it began with meetings in the back rooms of a Barcelona pharmacy. Members later moved to an attic on Carrer de la Boqueria, where they assembled a cabinet of scientific instruments.

The institution expanded from physics and mathematics into natural sciences and useful arts. Its seminars covered electricity, magnetism, optics, chemistry, botany, agriculture and other fields. When Barcelona had no university, these gatherings provided a place for advanced scientific teaching. The academy published monographs, the Memorias series from 1835 and the Boletín from 1840. Its researchers examined air, dyes, electric telegraphy and volcanic activity in the Garrotxa region.

Its scientific work later reached Font Martina, where it helped establish a seismological station in 1986. It also participated in the Montsec telescope project, connecting Barcelona with astronomy and observation. One detail still anchors its origins: early scientific meetings took place beside a pharmacy before the academy gained its permanent architectural setting.