Behind bars: from model prison to overcrowded agony – the story of La Model

This year marks the 120th anniversary of the opening of the notorious La Model prison, located in the Eixample district of Barcelona. 

The facility closed in 2017 and has since become a site for Catalan historic memory, open to the public. Behind its high beige walls lies the history of a prison that sought to be exemplary, but during the Franco dictatorship held thousands of political prisoners, many of whom were tortured or executed. 

Cillian Shields joins Lea Beliaeva Bander to talk about the agonizing history of La Model and its impending transformation into a place of life.  

We speak with Isabel Centeno, historian and tour guide at La Model, and we hear from Gemma and Carme Puig Antich, the sisters of Salvador Puig Antich, the last political prisoner to be executed at La Model, and their lawyers, Maria Servini and Magda Oranich. 

The Catalan phrase of the week is “pagar justos per pecadors”, in English to pay for the sins of others.