Former air-raid shelter in El Serrallo, Tarragona, now marked
A new plaque on Callao street honours this historic site linked to the Civil War in the fishing district.
By Pere Roca Soler
••3 min read
AI
Commemorative plaque of a former air-raid shelter on Callao street in Tarragona.
The former air-raid shelter in El Serrallo, Tarragona, is now marked by a plaque on Callao street, honouring a key site from the Civil War in the fishing district.
The former air-raid shelter in El Serrallo has been officially incorporated into the memory sites of the Civil War and Francoist repression in Tarragona. This Thursday, October 1st, the plaque marking the location on Callao street was unveiled. The event was attended by numerous residents of the fishing district, as well as authorities including the mayor of Tarragona, Rubén Viñuales, and the President of the Port Authority, Santiago J. Castellà.
The initiative, driven by the Port of Tarragona through its Archive and Museum, aims to identify and dignify this space, closely linked to the history of El Serrallo and the effects of the Civil War on the city. It is part of the Democratic Memory Program of the Tarragona City Council.
This signage seeks to raise awareness of the shelter's existence, which protected over five hundred people from Civil War bombings. Although the construction of the railway network destroyed a significant part of it, making it currently inaccessible, the new plaque will contribute to its preservation and the dissemination of the historical memory of the neighbourhood and the city.
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"Today's act is not just the unveiling of a plaque; it is a vindication of the memory of El Serrallo and of the terrible experience that the Civil War was for the neighbourhood and the city. With actions like this, we keep alive the memory of events that cannot leave us indifferent."
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"From the Tarragona City Council, through the Department of Democratic Memory, we work with the conviction that remembering is useful. Looking at the past is not about being trapped in it, but about better understanding who we are and how we got here."
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"The memory of El Serrallo is one of the defining characteristics we have as a neighbourhood, and now, with this commemorative plaque, we ensure that a historical episode and the stories of the people who sought shelter here are not forgotten."
The event included a dramatized reading by the reciter Encarna Laínez and a musical performance by clarinetist Núria Aguadé, adding a human and emotional dimension to the commemoration.
This initiative reaffirms the Port of Tarragona's commitment to democratic memory, following previous activities such as a conference on air-raid shelters and the workshop "Telling Archive Stories. Disseminating Memory," led by Maribel Serra Pallarès.
The Tarragona City Council, through its Department of Democratic Memory, emphasizes the importance of marking these sites to understand the scale of repression during the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship, promoting critical reflection and the dissemination of democratic values.
