Royal Shipyards of Barcelona

In this canvas, Battistuzzi depicts one of the most emblematic buildings on the city’s seafront – the Drassanes Reials (Royal Shipyards) of Barcelona. The Drassanes Reials were conceived as a naval shipyard for galleys – an area for building, repairing and maintaining ships, as well as serving the fleet of warships of the Crown of Aragon. The architectural structure of the building was specifically designed for constructing galleys, which were also stored here during winter, along with rigging, equipment, weapons, provisions, etc.
The Drassanes Reials was used as a naval shipyard for the first half of the 18th century, until the abolition of the Galley Corps in 1745. The building was subsequently used for military purposes – as a cannon foundry, a barracks, a dockyard and an artillery depot. Finally, in 1935 the Army handed over the installations to the city. Nowadays the building houses the Museu Marítim de Barcelona.