The 15th and 16th centuries in Italy saw the emergence of an artistic movement characterised by the desire to rediscover Classical antiquity: the Renaissance. Nature was its source of inspiration and a new idealised reality was created from analysing it. Science was put into the service of art and intellectualisation led those who had been classed as artisans up until then to lay claim to a new social status: artists. Yet the rest of Europe, Catalonia included, which had put down deep roots in the concepts and forms of the Gothic world, was not receptive to Italian influences until the 16th century.

The new ideas were slow to be assimilated by the Aragonese Crown, very much despite its strong ties to Italy. Works often continued to have a strong Gothic flavour, only superficially including aspects of the new trend. The theoretical background that characterised Italian art was nowhere to be found in local artistic production.

In the mid 15th century, Barcelona lost some of its importance as an artistic capital to Valencia, which alongside Gerona and Saragossa became an artistic centre receptive to the new influences. It is worth mentioning the great influx of international artists to the area: Castilians, French, Flemish and Italians came from abroad to create major works.

The mythification of the medieval era in our country has frequently led to underestimating later artistic periods, which have often been academically neglected as a result. Our town was no exception, despite the valuable heritage left behind by this period. The works carried out on the town walls, the Llotja, the Casa de la Ciutat, the convent of Santa Clara, the See, the bridge portal and engineering works such as the irrigation canals and the extension of the sewers are in themselves evidence of the structural advances of this time. The Consell de la Ciutat (Town Council), the confraries (confraternities), the religious orders, the See Chapter and the upper classes promoted considerable artistic production that embraced different artistic languages. Important examples of this survive to this day.