Barcelona to ban old polluting cars in 2019
Barcelona will begin banning cars older than 20 years on weekdays in 2019 in a bid to curb the city’s air pollution problems.
Spain
This archive collects solutions-journalism stories and progress milestones from Spain — covering areas such as renewable energy, public health, social policy, and civic innovation. Each entry highlights real developments and measurable outcomes reported from or about Spain.
Spain’s transition to democracy begins after Franco’s death
Spain’s transition to democracy began on November 22, 1975, just two days after dictator Francisco Franco’s death ended nearly four decades of authoritarian rule. Guided by King Juan Carlos I and pressure from civil society, Spaniards voted in their first free election in over 40 years by 1977, ratifying a new constitution the following year.
Antonio Torres of Spain establishes the modern classical guitar design
Around 1850, a Spanish carpenter named Antonio de Torres Jurado quietly reshaped the guitar in his Seville workshop. By widening the body and introducing fan bracing — wooden struts radiating beneath the soundboard — he gave the instrument the volume and warmth concert halls demanded. Nearly every classical guitar built today still follows his blueprint.
The Act of Independence of Central America proclaims the independence of Central America from the Spanish Empire
The Act led to the eventual formation of the modern nations of Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
Congress of Chilpancingo declares Mexico independent from Spain
The Congress of Chilpancingo convened in September 1813, gathering insurgent representatives in a small mountain town in what is now Guerrero, Mexico. Led by José María Morelos, they formally declared independence from Spain and drafted the Sentimientos de la Nación, abolishing slavery and racial castes. Eight years before Mexican independence arrived, they sketched its moral blueprint under fire.
Cervantes publishes Don Quixote, giving birth to the modern novel
Don Quixote arrived in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, from a nearly 60-year-old Miguel de Cervantes — a former soldier who’d survived a war wound, five years of captivity in Algiers, and a string of failures. His tale of a deluded knight and his squire is widely considered the first great novel in the Western tradition.
Spain’s Golden Age reaches its artistic peak under Philip II
Spain’s Golden Age bloomed under Philip II, who took the throne in 1556 and poured royal wealth into art, architecture, and letters. He built El Escorial, drew El Greco to Toledo, and set the stage for Cervantes and Velázquez. Nearly two centuries of creative work followed, shaping literature and painting far beyond Iberia.
Prehistoric artists paint the Cave of Altamira in northern Spain
Altamira’s bison were painted roughly 20,000 years ago, deep inside a limestone cave in what is now northern Spain. Ice Age artists mixed ochre, hematite, and charcoal, and worked the ceiling’s natural bulges into the animals’ shoulders and haunches. The cave is a reminder that symbolic thought and artistic care have been part of being human for a very long time.
Uranium dating confirms Spanish cave art is at least 40,800 years old
A calcite crust over a red disk at El Castillo cave in Spain confirmed what no prior method could prove: the painting beneath it is at least 40,800 years old. The 2012 C.E. uranium-thorium study transformed how scientists understand the origins of symbolic thought — and raised the possibility that Neanderthals, not just modern humans, were among the world’s first artists.