A pioneering lighthouse

As a new feature of the Barceloneta area, the Torre del Rellotge was very important: it was one of the first lighthouses in the Mediterranean. Designed in 1772 by the engineer Jorge Próspero de Verboom, who was in charge of renovating the entire port, it became an important symbol of the neighbourhood in the 18th century.

Visible from many places in the port, the Torre del Rellotge is located on the famous Moll de Pescadors [ fisherman’s wharf], which also housed the passport office, the marine command headquarters and the health inspection post during the 18th century. While improvements were being made to Barcelona’s port, a decision was taken in 1904 to convert the defunct lighthouse into a clock tower, which it remains today.

Long-term changes

Architecturally, it is a pyramidal stone tower standing on a plinth. Later, in 1904, when it was converted into a clock tower, stucco was added along with the clock housing.

The former lighthouse, also has its own little story: it has the honour of being one of the geodesic points where the scientist Pierre François André Méchain took the measurements he used as the basis of the metric system.