Early history Ildefons Cerdà's so-called
Pla Cerdà was not totally successful in transforming Barcelona's urban reality, as only parts of it were finally approved. The construction of Avinguda Diagonal is one of the projects it entailed that became reality, when a Royal Decree from
Queen Isabella II of Spain and
Leopoldo O'Donnell's
Spanish government in
Madrid allowed him to start the construction of the avenue in 1859. The city council of Barcelona had previously requested the approval of
Antoni Rovira i Trias's alternative project instead, which had been rejected. After the completion of its central section, from the current
Plaça de Francesc Macià towards
Glòries, it soon became one of Barcelona's most popular avenues and an ideal place for the Catalan
aristocrats and
bourgeoisie to exhibit their carriages.
Francesc Cambó, leader of
Lliga Regionalista proposed the construction of a new palace for the then monarch
Alfonso XIII in 1919 (the royal palace in
Ciutat Vella had been destroyed in the fire of 1875).
Recent history Avinguda Diagonal suffered several attacks by the
Basque separatist organisation
ETA in 2000. On 2 November, a
car bomb exploded injuring a security officer and a
municipal officer. A few days later, on 21 November, a car used by the killers of Ernest Lluch exploded in the middle of the avenue. On 20 December a municipal officer was shot dead. Four venues in the area hosted competitions for the
1992 Summer Olympics. During 2010, Diagonal reform proposals were on the headlines, as the Barcelona city council had plans to make the tram cross the whole avenue. A
popular consultation (the word
referendum being banned by Spanish law) was scheduled for May 2010 between two reform proposals, the so-called
rambla or
boulevard. It resulted in a big political failure for the city mayor,
Jordi Hereu. There was a bare participation of 12% of potential voters, and about 80% voted for the third option
none of the former two, that is, against any change. ==Buildings and places of interest==