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Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, The Casa Mila (La Pedrera), La Rambla, Barri Gotic and Picasso all evoke the essence of Barcelona as we discovered in early February, 2001. The city itself is most interesting in that it has always been cosmopolitan and in the vanguard of modern advancements; most lead by a cast of somewhat eccentric characters that have become household names.
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We suspect that the Sagrada Familia church is the most well known of Antoni Gaudi’s work. Gaudi is one of the modernistas, or Catalan modernists who left their mark on Barcelona. Modernisme is usually described as a version of Art Nouveau which utilizes adventurous combinations of materials like tile, glass, brick and iron and steel.
Sagrada Familia continues to be under construction to this day. Work has progressed somewhat sporadically since Gaudi’s death in 1926 (he was hit by a street car while crossing the road). As was true when Gaudi began work on the church, controversy continues to surround its construction. To be sure, it is not like any other church you have ever seen. It definitely stretched the imagination, but in all is quite spectacular. Gaudi was not the original architect, but he did devote himself to the project until his death, at which time only one of the 4 original towers was complete (the side depicting the nativity scene). Since then another architect has completed the 4 towers on the opposite side, the passion facade. The plans call for another outside towers, 4 inner towers for the disciples, one representing Mary, and the tallest in the center to represent Christ.
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This final tower will be the tallest structure in Barcelona. The ceiling will represent the stars in the heavens and allow natural light to enter the cathedral. All of the basic structure is of concrete and rebar with a facing of marble or mosaic tile. We climbed to the top of the original tower (the leftmost one in the picture on the right) and were presented with quite a view of Barcelona. It was only 320-something steps! On the way up we got some impressive detailed views of the cypress tree with white doves (top center of the picture at left).
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Gaudi also planned and built the Parc Guell. The park was declared part of the world’s heritage by UNESCO in 1984. The mosaic-roofed “ginger bread” house near the entrance to the park is quite picturesque as is the large lizard on the steps up to the higher sections of the park. This project was not a complete success in that the original plan had been to have the park be a part of a large housing development for the well-to-do in Barcelona. The park was completed but the housing portion never really was accepted and failed.
Another famous work integrated into life is La Pedrera, an apartment building in downtown Barcelona that was quite innovative for its time. It is built on a corner lot and the building curves around the corner in a wave rather than the usual angles. Each of the terraces has a wrought-iron grill-work reminiscent of flowing seaweed, rather than the normal vertical balustrades. The top floor has been preserved as it would have been in the early 1900’s when it was first completed. The apartments are spacious and incorporate a great quantity of light, something rather unusual for the time. Some of the innovative features included a security viewing window in each of the front doors, marble as wainscoting in a wave down the hall as well as for flooring, and quite advanced plumbing features for the day. The recurring theme you notice with Gaudi is that he much preferred curves to angles, as they are more natural. The attic of the building was an open area with small windows for ventilation so the laundry could be hung to dry without being viewed by the entire neighborhood, and the rooftop was transformed into a patio with whimsical chimney stacks (below right) and sinuous walkways meandering on various levels.
The Rambla is the famous walkway for strolling to the port and is lined with interesting shops and restaurants. In one stretch the walk is lined with flower merchants while the next is replete with birds of all color and song. A great place to wander away the afternoon, or simply sit in a small cafe and people-watch. A couple of blocks off the Rambla is the old gothic quarter of the city and is worth a tour to see the gothic cathedral as well as the Roman ruins in the City History Museum (which we found to be quite extensive). In front of the cathedral is a large square bustling with people and surrounded by shops and cafes.
On a Sunday morning we stumbled upon a large group of people and their Gigantes (quite large figures of historical people). We think that groups from different areas create these figures, probably to represent some important historical figure from their past (if we find out for sure, we’ll let you know). There was quite a variety and they all seemed to be built with the idea of being carried on a man’s shoulders as the inside frame has shoulder pads and the outer costume has a net insert for the person to see out. Luckily one group came late and Verna was able to capture the process of putting a certain lady together, from her basic form at the left to her completed self at right.
Basic Form Under-skirt Head Over-skirt Securing Chest shape Arms Complete |
