One of the questions I often get asked is what is the monument at the bottom of the for, or who is the head depicted in it?

Well the basic answer is it is a monument to Francesc Macia, and in many towns all over Catalunya you will find streets and squares dedicated to him.

So who was he, why is he important to Catalunya? As I understand it from Internet searches here's his story (I am sure my Catalan friends will put me right if I have erred at all)

In 1922 he founded the Independent Catalan Party 'Estat Catala' and in 1926 attempted an insurrection against the Spanish dictatorshipof that time to obtain Catalan Independence. He was arrested and spent some time in Jail, before being exiled to Brussels. He returned to Spain in 1930 having earned himself a pardon, then getting exiled again in 1931. During the elections of that year Macia returned and declared the Independent State of Catalunya, but eventually settled for autonomy within Spain. He was president of the Generalitat until his death in 1933, and is buried in the Montjuic Cemetary.

He remains an insopiration for Indipendence in Catalunya.