According to the tradition, Saint Eulalia (Eulalia in Castilian and Eulària in Catalan) was born in Sarrià (Barcelona), and also the place where she lived. She was a girl renowned for her charity work. The poor would constantly knock at her house door and never went without a penny. Near to the Saint’s house was a well where nearby neighbours would go to collect water. One day the girl went to collect some water and saw that the well was dry.

Frightened of the fact that meant a misfortune for everyone, on the way home she started crying like mad. The tears she left in her path started to form a river of fresh water that accompanied her to home. The welling up of water was so strong that she could fill all the wells in Barcelona. 

Near to Saint Eulalia"s house there was a large forest full of cypress trees. One day the Saint walked through there and an angel appeared predicting that she would be the patron saint of Barcelona. At the beginning of the IV century (284-305) Diocletian the roman emperor ordered the persecution of Christians without respite. Saint Eulalia was only 13 years old and appeared before the “Deciano” consul to tell him she was a Christian and to harshly reprimand him on the violent way he was treating the Christians. Deciano locked Saint Eulalia up in prison and condemned her to suffer thirteen tortures, as thirteen was her age. Finally, she was to be nailed to a cross in the “Ángel de Barcelona” square. 

In 1235 the transit from Islamic to Christian influence took place in Ibiza. Ibiza and Formentera go on to form part of the Catalan-Aragonese Crown. When the new Catalan inhabitants, headed by Guillem de Montgrí arrived to our land, they named every town. As they were devoted to Saint Eulalia, when they saw the river which reminds the history of the Saint, they named the town firstly Quartó del Rei but later changed it to Santa Eulalia del Río. Saint Eulalia was the patron of Barcelona until 1687. She is currently the patron of the cathedral in Barcelona. In fact, the cathedral is dedicated to the Saint and her remains can be found in the crypt of the cathedral, under the high altar.

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