Barcelona suffered hundreds of aerial bombardment of the pro-Franco airforce. Between September 1937 and November 1938 the city suffered 487 air raids. One of the most memorable occurred on January 30, 1938, which killed 42 people in the square and church of Sant Felip Neri, located in the old city quarter. The vast majority of those killed were children refugees in the capital. A plaque placed in 2007 by the City Council of Barcelona remember these facts.

Tens of shrapnel impacts of the bombing have dramatically sculpted the façade of church of Sant Felip Neri. On the facade are preserved, in addition, numerous bullet holes dating back to the battle of July 19, 1936.