Masonic symbols
on Portaferrissa street
On the façade of the house at 11 Portaferrissa Street, you can see a sculpture above the door with clearly Masonic symbols. It depicts two children, with a triangle in the middle between them, standing on bricks. The boy on the right holds the triangle with his right hand, and two rulers in his left. The boy on the left leans on the bricks with his left hand, holding a trowel, and a compass in his right.
THE MYSTERY LOCATION ON THE MAP
The Barcelona Historical Archives holds a building permit from 1867 for this building, designed by architect Domingo Sitjas. It is said that the original plans did not include the child sculpture (probably to avoid arousing suspicion among the authorities and clergy of the time). This is likely why the project was so readily accepted by the authorities.
The secret order of Freemasons has always had a philanthropic and philosophical character. Its members, both men and women, assert that the purpose of Freemasonry is the search for truth and the promotion of human intellectual and moral development, thereby striving to create a more just and perfect human society.
The sculpture group on this building signifies that it was here in the 19th century (and possibly the early 20th century) that a Masonic lodge was located. Two children symbolize innocence and purity. A pile of bricks, topped with a triangle, alludes to the construction of a new man and a new society, illuminated by the divine presence of the Holy Trinity, which in the Masonic hierarchy is represented by three basic degrees—master, journeyman, and apprentice—in accordance with the theological principles of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Father imparts wisdom to the Master Mason; the godson gives strength to the journeyman; and God the Holy Spirit inspires the apprentice to create beauty.
The child on the right also symbolizes the master carpenter, and the child on the left the master mason: the carpenter and the mason build, board by board and stone by stone, the ideal temple of the new man, which Freemasonry mentally and morally creates on Earth.
