The first mention of a church of Santa Maria by the sea dates from 998 . The construction of the present building was promoted by the canon Bernat Llull , who was appointed Archdean of Santa Maria in 1324 . Construction work started on 25 March 1329 , when the foundation stone was laid by king Alfonso IV of Aragon ( III of Barcelona ) , as commemorated by a tablet in Latin and Catalan on the façade that faces the Fossar de les Moreres . The architects in charge were Berenguer de Montagut ( designer of the building ) and Ramon Despuig , and during the construction all the guilds of the Ribera quarter were involved . The walls , the side chapels and the façades were finished by 1350 . In 1379 there was a fire that damaged important parts of the works . Finally , on 3 November 1383 the last stone was laid and on 15 August 1384 the church was consecrated . The 1428 Catalonia earthquake caused several casualties and destroyed the rose window in the west end . The new rose window , in the Flamboyant style , was finished by 1459 and one year later the glass was added . Many of its decorative richness , the images and the Baroque altar were destroyed in a fire set by anti-clerical rioters at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 . The church survived even though it was on fire for 11 days . The chapel of the Blessed Sacrament , adjacent to the apse , was added in the 19th century
1428 Catalonia earthquake
1428 Catalonia earthquake
Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona