The closing of the GRAND HOTEL OF THE FOUR NATIONS deserved a publishing commentary of the newspaper "The Publicitat" and until the honors of cover. It ran the 27 of February of 1927. It not only lamented the loss of so taken root establishment, but that it shelled the great moments of his historical one happened; for that reason it evoked the lodging that had already given the distinguished and numerous refugees of the French revolution and also indicated that its proximity to the main theater benefitted to him from being residence inexcusable of but admired artists. "El Noticiero Universal" also consecrated an article to him. That glosses journalistic that fortunately would be denied shortly after, when obtaining the reapertura and the continuity, needed that it had been founded under the name of Inn of the Nations. An end is this one on which a certain confusion exists, and I talk about its qualification, because monografia that Kociemski consecrated to the influence of the Italians in hostelería Barcelonian granted the distinction to him of to have been "primo in Barcellona e in Europa intiera"; one talked about its condition of hotel, that not of boardinghouse. However, there is absolute unamimity about the peculiar denomination 4 NATIONS, that were not other that France, Italy, England and Portugal. With time, some variations were registered, like for example the afrancesamiento it are had towards the 1880, when he was denominated Grand Hotel et 4 Nations. Everything induces to suspect that the functional date was the one of 1770, being the creators to the Italian citizens Fortis and Primatesta. The building, always located in the same place, Las Ramblas 35, was, until the construction of the present one, in the middle of XIX, the much more prosaic one. At that time the only worthy establishment of competition was the La Fontana de Oro, anchored in the Escudellers street. Almost the omnipresencia of the Italians explains that in the successive changes it passed first a hands of Ercole Durio(hijo de Francesco, owner of the hotels Oriente and Falcon), directed Luigi to it Crugnola later and, entered our century, it bought Bussone and Maffioli.
According to the guide "the Consultant", with date of 1857, the hotel appeared like pertaining to Fortis and Compañía. Guide "Douze jours à Barcelone" meticulously describes the luxury that distinguished to the hotel. And to the Barcelonians admired they also commented that "to l'Hotel 4 Nacions, tot són balcons". In view of as much prestige, it is no wonder another Italian, Luigi Cavagliani, inagurara the Boardinghouse of the Four Parts of the World, in the Montserrat street, in which the coarse imitation was limited in the name, that not to the quality. The decay came prepared with the displacement of the vital center of the city to the Eixample, although in 1915, while the Maison Dorée received 16 pesetas by the complete pension, the one of the 4 Nations it cost 12,50.The reference written older than until now I have obtained is the slogan by that peculiar impenitente and notary without pretensions of the reality that was the Baró d'Amat, that already mentions the 2 of August of 1799. Other deserving appointments of time of attention are those of Charles Nodier(1827) and the one of Stendhal(1837). Between the illustrious guests they must be mentioned, I take as example, the pair Sand/Chopin(1838) or Pirandello(1924)
Lluís Permanyer
23 January 1994
EL ALBUM (LA VANGUARDIA)
