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Sota Muralla street is one of the oldest streets in Barcelona. It was built next to the Sea Wall that had been built to defend the city from pirate attacks. It was inaugurated in 1530.
With the elimination of the walls in the old city, in 1878, the street was on the front line and from that moment on, the continuous urbanization of the area and the adhesion of the Barceloneta neighborhood within the city removed it until it was placed in its current position. situation.
On a current street map we will find it at the end of Paseo de Colón, in the shopping area of Barceloneta, between Pla de Palau and the promenade that goes down to Barceloneta behind the Porches de Xifré towards the Plaza de Pau Vila.
When in 1834 Captain General Ramón de Meer y Kindelán carried out the reform of the street following the line parallel to the wall, its route began at the end of the Rambla de Santa Mónica, at the beginning of the Framenors climb, which went up to the promenade. of the Wall.
Sota Muralla Street continued parallel to the wall and on its interior side the construction of buildings began about six meters below the elevated promenade that reached the old Plaza de Antonio López (current Plaza de Idrissa Diallo).
The primitive street had an approximate length of 300 meters, with stairs that went up to the promenade that was in the wall, those that left Medinaceli Square were double and others near the old San Sebastián Square, somewhat simpler.
It passed in front of the Plaza de Medinaceli (named in gratitude to Luis Joaquín Fernández de Córdoba y Benavides, 14th Duke of Medinaceli, owner of the land on which it was built to widen the old Plaza de San Francisco). On May 22, 1883 it became Plaza de Antonio López; during a period of the war, in Captain Biardeau Square; and after the war ended, in 1940, again, Antonio Lopéz Square.
Next, it passed in front of the Palace of the Captaincy General and the house that, according to historians, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra lived during his stay in Barcelona.
Currently, it is no longer Antonio López's square after the campaigns denouncing how his enrichment was achieved through the sale of slaves, which led to the name change to Idrissa Diallo.
Idrissa had arrived in Spain in December 2011 through the Melilla fence, being transferred in poor condition to the Foreigners Internment Center (CIE) in Barcelona. Two weeks later, due to his poor condition he was transferred to the hospital, where he died from respiratory failure.
The desire to banish the name of Antonio López from the square and the death of Idrissa converged in the opinion of many people and authorities, who decided to change the name of the square.
Previously, Barcelona City Council, to satisfy all those who requested the name change of said square, had removed, on March 4, 2018, the statue of Antonio López from the pedestal.
The name change also affected the space of the rest of the square on the side next to Via Laietana, which, from that moment on, was renamed Post Office Square, a name by which it was popularly known, since it is located right before this equipment.
