Tarragona is a city that’s proud of its numerous traditions and tocar ferro (“touching iron”) is one of the most popular. It simply means crossing the Rambla Nova until you reach the Balcó del Mediterrani and touch the iron railing which is on top of what was once the stone extraction quarry used by the Romans during their time in Tarraco.

For many of the people of Tarragona, it is an everyday habit to walk along the Rambla and go touch iron at the Balcó del Mediterrani. This fact implies strolling to the railing which was designed by local Tarragona architect Ramon Salas I Ricomà in 1889.

Before its construction, there was once a wall that limited the Paseo de las Palmeres with the cliff that separated the fields at its feet and the sea line. The name of the Balcó del Mediterrani (Balcony to the Mediterranean) came from  Emilio Castelar, president of the First Spanish Republic, who gave it this name during his visit to Tarragona in 1863.