As part of the UB’s 575th anniversary, the event aims to recall one of the most shocking episodes in the institution’s recent history: the fascist bombings against the University during the Spanish Civil War, and especially the attack on 17 March 1938, which caused severe damage to the University and had major international repercussions.
The Spanish Civil War was the first conflict in which fascism used aerial warfare against the civilian population in the rearguard, causing devastating physical and psychological effects. Barcelona suffered constant bombings by Italian aviation based in Palma, and our University was targeted on three occasions.
The event will consist of two parts:

A lecture by Joan Villarroya, a specialist in the history of the bombings of Barcelona, who began this line of research with his undergraduate thesis in 1978.
Contributions from representatives of universities currently being bombed, such as Sarajevo, Kharkiv, and Gaza, who will share their experiences and reflections.

The session will conclude with an address by the Rector of the University of Barcelona.
EXHIBITION: “THE UNIVERSITY UNDER THE BOMBS”
On the occasion of this event, a small photographic exhibition is presented, documenting the destruction caused by the bombings at the Historic Building of the University of Barcelona. Organized by the Vice-Rector’s Office for Culture, Memory and Heritage, the exhibition establishes a dialogue between past and present through historical images of the affected spaces and contemporary photographs of the same locations, inviting visitors to reflect on the impact of war on university heritage and collective memory.