Barcelona – ALL I NEED IS MY PASSPORT

Fascinating Things You See Wandering Barcelona

Oct 222021

October 2021

Las Ramblas

This sweet little statue is in the very small Placa de Vincenc Martorell just off Las Ramblas. The square has a children’s playground, which is probably the purpose of the statue, but in the same square you will find this.

The hole you see in the wall was once part of the House of Mercy. It was a rotating wooden turntable where one could anonymously drop off donations for the church such as groceries or even money, but the most often item dropped onto this rotating turntable were unwanted babies. The House of Mercy was active from 1853 to 1931.

This is titled Miró’s Pavement. In 1976, artist Joan Miró chose this spot on Las Ramblas for one of his works, It sits close to the Passatge del Crèdit, where he was born 83 years earlier. Miro’s intention was for passers-by to walk over the mosaic, he wasn’t concerned about it getting damaged. Because it had become faded and was deteriorating, Barcelona’s City Council decided to restore the piece in 2006, the 30th anniversary of the installation.

Walking through an Esplanade from the Bouqueria Market to Las Ramblas I came upon these giants. The larger two date from some time prior to 1601. The man is a saracen and the woman a medieval lady. King Charles III issued a decree declaring them too grotesque for religious celebrations and they were closeted away. They were brought back out again for the feast of Corpus Christi in 1799. The three smaller ones were brought onto the scene after 1780. All of the giants were packed away and stored in a bell tower in 1870. Rediscovered in 1951 they were restored and now sit in this little pedestrian walkway.

The Born

There are numbered cannonballs all along the Passeig del Born. They are an art installation by the late João Brossa. The intention was to evoke the 1714 siege of Barcelona which ended the 14-year War of the Spanish Succession. After their victory, the Bourbon forces forced residents of the Barri de la Ribera to tear down nearly a thousand of their own houses, some 20% of Barcelona at that time, to create fields where the occupying army of Felipe V could aim their cannons at the occupied city.

At the end of the street you will find the Fossar de les Moreres, or Grave of the Mullberries. The plaza was built over a cemetery where defenders of the city were buried at the end of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714. There is eternal flame atop the metal arch and a poem by Frederic Soler, “El Fossar de les Moreres”, inscribed within the arch.

The area isn’t all that morbid, there is a great Museum of Chocolate (Museu de la Xocolata) in the Born, it is filled with wonderful things made of chocolate, like this portraiture of George R. R. Martin, author of Game of Thrones.

In fact this is your entry ticket, very Willy Wonka, you get to eat it when you are done.

Port Vell

In the early 1990s Barcelona was modernizing the city’s infrastructure and improving many of its run down areas. The old harbour, the Port Vell, was redeveloped and new works of art were placed around the area. One was this Face, originally by Roy Lichtenstein, the sculpture was made by Diego Delgado between 1991 and 1992.

The Gothic Quarter

This is the Font of Sant Just just outside the church bearing Sant Just’s name. The fountain once overlooked the parish cemetery. Burials were banned in the city in 1831, but the fountain remains.

Near the Barcelona Cathedra is this gorgeous piece also by Catalan artist João Brossa. It spells Barcino, which is what the Romans called Barcelona. Six of the letters are bronze and one is aluminum.

A friend sent me an article about The Frederic Marés Museum. I hunted it down, and I still don’t know what to say. It is astonishing. The man began collecting in his childhood, but collecting just doesn’t cut it as a word. He collected Christian art pieces, weapons, soldier figures, Victorian fans, pipes, instruments, and so, so much more. The thing is, what he collected was incredible. It is the type of stuff that might have ended in the trash in its time, instead it was lovingly collected for the world to enjoy. You don’t go to learn, there are over 10,000 pieces, you go to ogle, and it is truly too much to handle for very long, but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Medieval Jewish Quarter

This little pastry shop is heaven on earth. Literally, Caelum means heaven in Latin. The pastries are absolutely divine, and have added considerably to my waistline, but the fun part is its history. The shop is choc-a-bloc full of delicacies made by various religious institutions. This includes “medicinal” liquids as well as cookies and cakes.

Let Heaven and Nature Sing

Barcelona

Oct 222021

October 2021

Palau de la Musica Catalana

The Palau de la Musica Catalana, a stunning example of Catalan Art Nouveau, opened in 1908. It was designed by architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner.

The ticket booth alone should be a clue as to what an amazing spectacle you are in for.

All the sculptures on one side of the auditorium represent the “Ride of Walkiries” and on the other side, the figure of Beethoven, sculpted by Pau Gargallo and Dídac Massana.

The stained glass skylight was made by Rigalt and Granell.

The balconies are all made of glass balusters topped with a stone coping.

The building is abundant in pink roses, a reference to the patron saint of Catalonia, Saint George.

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The façade is made of red brick and decorated with mosaics from Lluís Bru.

Cementiri de Montjuïc

Opened in 1883 this cemetery was necessary when the older cemetery at Poblenou became too full. The Cementiri de Montjuïc contains over one million burials and cremation ashes in 150,000 plots, niches and mausolea.

I love cemeteries, they are art galleries, history books and so much more. Cemenetiri de Montjuïc, like so many cemeteries today understands this and has three routes to take, historical, military and art. I tried following the art trail as best I could, with a personal aim of ending at the gravesite of Joan Miró. They have lovely maps, but considering the cemetery is 57 acres, you needed a magnifying glass to read them, so I did my very best to find the important plots by famous artists and architects, although they are all Spanish so basically unknown to me.

Here is just a sampling, some famous and some I was simply drawn to.

The first is the architect of the cemetery Leandre Albareda i Petit who designed the cemetery.

Mausoleum of Ramon Carbo. Sculptor: Eusebe Arnaui Mascort Architect: Pere Garcia i Faria – 1905

Burial Vault of the Batlló Family. Architect: Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas Sculptors: Manuel Fuxa i Leal and Enric Claraso i Gaudi – 1889

One side of the Grave of the Montobbio Brothers. Architect: Enric Sagnier Foundry: Masriera-Campins 1898

This is a window on the Collaso i Gil Mausoleum. The sign mentioned the stained glass was by Antoni Rigalt (Stained Glass Maker of the Palau de Musica) Several of the windows had been broken, so I was able to peek in and see one that was lit from behind. – 1901.

This stunning example of Catalan Modernisme is the mausoleum of Eduard Sevilla i Montoliu/Coromina – Architect: Leandre Albareda i Petit (Designer of the Cemetery as well) Sculptor: Rafael Atche

A close up of some of the Modernisme flourishes

This Amatller Mausoleum caught my eye for its stunning gate. – Architect: Emili Sala i Cortes – Sculptor: Eusebi Arnau i Mascort – 1911-1915

A sampling of the pieces that just grabbed me:

**A few whimsical sights:

The Miró Family Mausoleum

Heavenly Spaces on Opposite Sides of Barcelona

Barcelona

Oct 212021

October 2021

Montserrat

Montserrat ( basically serrated mountain) is a mountain range about ½ hour drive outside of Barcelona.

On top of the mountain is a Benedictine Monastery, Santa Maria de Montserrat, that gets a lot of wahoos in tourist magazines. When I returned to Barcelona I was not sure why I had gone.

It is a very important pilgrimage for Catholics, and I respect that, but otherwise, it was basically a large tourist trap.

If you were spending a considerable amount of time in Barcelona and needed some fresh air and mountain hikes, I can not think of a more spectacular place, but historically, it lacks.

The monastery was originally built in the 11^th century, but after having been completely destroyed by Napoleon’s troops in 1811 and in 1812, the monastery you see today is fairly modern.Hundreds traipse to the monastery to see the infamous Black Madonna, whose provenance is unknown, and science has led to the knowledge, that she is black thanks to millions of candles having been burnt in her vicinity.

I was thrilled to find that they had a Caravaggio in their museum, Saint Jerome the Penitent, sadly it was so poorly displayed as to make my excitement falter the moment I saw it. Caravaggio is known for his use of chiaroscuro, emphasis on scuro. The museum has the piece so lit up it is impossible to actually study and enjoy the painting.

The Labyrinth of Horta

Plaza of Lions

Returning to Barcelona at Plaça d’Espanya I hoped on the subway for another 1/2 hour in the other direction to the The Labyrinth of Horta, Barcelona’s oldest garden.

Juan Antonio Desvalls i Ardena, Marquis of Llupià, of Poal and of Alfarrás, (try putting that on a business card) conceived of this garden to impress visitors to his home.

Desvalls commissioned the Italian landscaper and gardener Domenico Bagutti who worked on the garden until 1808. The space has many distinctly Neo-Classical features, which have been well maintained and then added to with classic romanticism touches.

I love things like this, they really make you think about who it was, and why was it beheaded. Because the family disowned him? Because they bought the original statue like that? or this is the result of a party of debauchery I wish I had attended?

The park actually remained in the family until 1970, it was purchase by the city in 1971 and restored in 1994. It is limited to 750 visitors per day and is free on Wednesdays and Sundays. I had originally attempted to visit on Sunday, not because I wanted to avoid the meager 2 euro charge, but because it fit into my schedule. It fit into the schedule of every Barcelonian family that was dying to enjoy the stunning Sunday, the line, long enough to stretch forever, sent me on another adventure that day. I returned midweek to have the entire park to myself.

So everyone has been in a lot of Labyrinths and there are books on how not to get lost. I was lost, I was lost for a very, very long time, and all the rules they tell you, don’t apply when the designer designs for fun and not by the rules.

You are appropriately met by Eros, god of love and sex, once you finally do reach the middle of the Labyrinth

Looking down on the Labyrinth from the portico above

Here are some just delightful moments from the garden.

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Beauty, solace, peace of mind, we each find in our own way, I am glad mine ended with something that thrilled me beyond words.

The Lesser Advertised Gaudi

Barcelona

Oct 202021

October 2021

Casa Vicens

Casa Vicens was designed as a summer home, so looking at the airflow, windows, and screens is a part of understanding the design. In 1883, Manel Vicens i Montaner, a stock and currency broker hired Gaudi to design this summer garden home in what was, at the time, the former village of Gràcia. This is considered Gaudi’s first masterpiece.

Vicens died in the house in 1895. Over the years it was enlarged and divided into four apartments. In 2014, MoraBanc, a private bank bought the property and restored it to its present state and converted it into a museum and exhibition space.

Only a few rooms are restored to their original, from there, they did a wonderful job of creating what the space would have looked like, but painted all of the surfaces white to differentiate the new from the original.

The house now sits in a very developed area with extremely narrow streets, so getting an overall photo of the house is difficult to say the least.

Most museums now find it convenient to point you to a downloadable audio, or even hand you a headset with all the information available. In all of the Gaudi homes, there is a QR code and you can download the audio guide to your phone. This means everyone is walking around with their phone to their ear (sans ear buds), or at full volume so the whole family can hear, making it impossible to actually concentrate, especially when there are six different languages occurring. I skipped the opportunity in every case, and spoke to the docents instead. My experience was far richer for it.

This is the first room you enter in Casa Vicens. My mouth dropped to the floor, I gasped and couldn’t move from my spot. Fortunately a divine docent, fluent in five languages, was there to get me moving again. The first question I asked was about the craftspeople of the house. Gaudi was an amazing architect, and often did not work with drawings but concepts that he was specific about, but left to craftspeople to articulate.

The sad thing is that during the Catalan revolution Gaudi’s drawings and notes were completely destroyed, so in most Gaudi sites my questions about the craftspeople go unanswered. Fortunately the drawings and information for Casa Vicens, were in the house itself, and so there is actually information about the craftspeople.

What you are looking at is a form of papier-mâché created by Hermenegild Miralles. Together with Ramon de Montaner i Vila, he founded a large lithography and industrial binding company, introducing this form of what they called, imitation papier-mâché.

From here I am simply going to share with you the things that brought tears to my eyes for their beauty. Understanding the rooms in Casa Vicens is not important, the craftsmanship it.

Thought to be the daughters bedroom

The Master Bedroom

The ceiling of the woman’s siting room

The walls of the “Blue Room”

The Smoking room

The exterior patio. Notice the screens that allow air to flow catching whatever breezes there were to cool the house in the summer.

Planters built into the exterior walls to be enjoyed while sitting on the patio

Typical of Gaudi, he could not just have a stone exterior, it had to be ornamented with tile

And yes, the rooftop chimneys were a part of the ahh moments

I was especially charmed by the front entry wrought iron fence.

The docent pointed out that Gaudi saw a palm leaf, thought it would make a perfect gate so had the artist, Joan Oñós, make a mold. Since that is actually something that still occurs today, I enjoyed the step through time.

A cast of a single palm leaf in the house museum

Some of Gaudi’s papers are displayed in the house museum, it was fun to see his signature.

Paseo de Gracia

Photographing street tiles, unless freshly laid, is not easy. It is hard to find where the world has not added such detritus as to make them rather unappealing. These were designed by Gaudi.

The tiles were originally meant for Casa Botilló, but they were not completed in time, they were then put into Casa Mila. The pattern is hexagonal with three different shapes inspired by three marine elements: a starfish, algae of the genus sargassum and a snail fossil of the Ammonite class; the complete drawing can only be seen with seven tiles. It is monochromatic; the lack of color is replaced by the relief, which provides lights and shadows.

In 1997 the city of Barcelona paved the broad pedestrian zones along Paseo de Gracia with a re-edition adapted to outdoor spaces as a tribute to Gaudi.

Portal Miralles

In 1901 Industrialist Hermenegild Miralles purchased a plot of land in the Sarriá neighborhood of Barcelona, to build a new home. He hired Gaudí to design and build the perimeter wall. The house is long gone, but the entry gate remains.

The three-dimensional cross at the top of the arch is one of Gaudi’s trademark motifs and can be seen decorating several of his buildings.

The gate was last restored in 2000 and at that time a life-sized bronze statue of Gaudí by Joaquim Camps was added.

Street Lights

While in school, Gaudí worked with Josep Fontserè i Mestre as a draughtsman for the entrance gate to the Ciutadella Park. Upon finishing this project, the Barcelona City Council commissioned him to design the public lighting of two of the city’s squares: Placa Reial and Pla de Palau. These 6 arm lamps are in Placa Reial.

The lampposts show the Barcelona coat of arms in the middle of the column. On the top of the lampposts in the Placa Reial is Caduceus with two snakes and a winged helmet, symbolizing Mercury, the Roman god of commerce.

In Pla de Palau the same Gaudi street lights can be found but with three arms that are not as ornately decorated. At the top of these lampposts is an inverted crown, supported by three dragons.

Palau Güell

Palau Güell was one of Gaudi’s first works, and was for his patron Eusebi Güell. Construction began on the house in 1886 with the opening during the 1888 World Exhibition. Originally to be a multipurpose building with apartments, and event spaces it was not easy to place all of that into the small footprint of the lot.

Everything you read about this structure waxes poetic about its brilliance. I found it almost macabre. I can not, again, rave enough about the quality of the craftsmen, but I kept looking for the chained up fire breathing dragon in the basement.

The foremost feature on the front of the house is this wonderful sculpture of ironwork. The exterior of the house is all limestone from nearby Garraf

This magnificent entryway, meant for horse drawn carriages adds to the overall medieval feel I got

This entry hall is crowned by a parabolic dome, which lights the whole space through a series of small openings and a large central oculus. The entire building is configured around this central hall. The purpose of much of this room was not just to wow you with its aesthetics, the design guaranteed impressive acoustics for the concerts and religious services held here so they could be heard throughout the home.

Like so much of Gaudi’s work, you don’t need to really understand the purpose of the rooms as to simply ogle at the craftsmanship.

When I was visiting Casa Vicenza there was a collection of Gaudi’s personal books, my eyes fell upon a pattern book filled with Islamic tiles, I saw much of that throughout several of his works, but here it was truly obvious.

The back façade of the house is viewable from an exterior terrace: the lower part of this interesting structure is covered with blue-tinted azulejos (tin-glazed ceramic tiles) while the upper part has a balcony and a wooden pergola.

If there was a chained up dragon in the basement I never found him, but I did find Gaudi’s whimsey on the roof.

I do not want to give the impression that I did not think this house was anything other than spectacular. It is simply that so much of Gaudi’s work has a lightness to it, you can feel his smiling, his quick step, his bright and brilliant mind, here, the spark was replaced with a darkness I simply did not expect.

Gaudi’s Casa Battló, Casa Mila and Casa Calvet

Barcelona

Oct 192021

October 2021

Casa Battló

When Antoni Gaudi graduated from Architecture school Elies Rogent, the Director of Barcelona Architecture School, apparently said: “We have given this academic title either to a fool or a genius. Time will show.”

When walking the streets of Barcelona there is almost no other architectural style that overwhelms you as much as Catalan art nouveau or Modernisme. For this reason no other city has as many buildings on the UNESCO World Heritage List as Barcelona, and a large part of those were designed by Gaudi.

Casa Battló overwhelmed me. However, what grabbed me and would not let me go was the amazing high quality of craftsmanship. The wood kept me rapt at every turn.

Josep Batlló hired Gaudí to design his home in 1904. Batlló had planned to tear down the building and build an entirely new house. Gaudí convinced him that a renovation was sufficient. The building was completely refurbished by 1906.

From the moment you walk into the entryway, you can not help but see the love and attention taken by the wood workers to make the wood downright sexual.

You are still in awe when you reach the top of the stair, with windows created by wood alone and a newel post that begs to be caressed.

The architectural guidebooks I read said to remain in the room with the fireplace as long as you could, and I instantly knew why.

The golden tones of the plaster walls, the copper fireplace the parquet floor and the wood simply wrap you in a sensual blanket of warmth.

The entry door and chandelier of the same room

You leave that warm room and enter into an entirely new world, but not without passing through a wood door, that folds upon itself when as it closes, and yet is a work of art in its movement.

The next room is filled with light and while they aren’t something that scream at you, the round stained glass plays with you and dares you to look away from them and through the clear glass and the world outside. With that all going on you hardly realize you have so been seduced by the undulating plaster ceiling and walls – you are now within the grasp of the home, sucked in like a spider to the lair.

Another floor up, via another exquisite stairway

Brings you to the dining room. The lovely part of this room is that it opens onto a garden patio, with a view of the back of the building that helps you understand the layout of the building better.

As was common at the time, the owners lived on the lower floors, the higher floors were for tenants. Even the doors to these apartments (not available for viewing) were sumptuous.

The attention to detail, right down to the hardware was awe inspiring.

The entire house is centered around a blue tiled vestibule, and it is gorgeous, not only for its light, but for Gaudi’s typical use of playing with light and dark hues.

The Attic was the heart of the house, in other words, laundry, kitchen and maids quarters. And yet, despite its austerity there was sensuality and grace.

Rooms off to the left were functional rooms of the building such as laundry

Then, of course, there was a typical Gaudi roof. The sad thing in so much of today’s world when great houses are made into museums, there is often an alteration of various aspects for a variety of reasons. Safety is the number one, but in this case, a cafe, i.e. another way to bring in income was added, which meant that the original feel was lost. One could enjoy the typical Gaudi chimneys but the magic really was gone.

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Casa Mila

Much of Casa Mila has been transformed into a restaurant, and offices, so you really visit for the roof and the attic.

In 1984, the house was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since 2013 it has been the headquarters of the Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera which manages the building, the tours and exhibitions.

The building is nicknamed La Pedrera, or “the stone quarry”, a reference to its unconventional rough-hewn appearance

One of my favorite things of the buildings were the wrought-iron grilles of the 32 balconies. They were made using scrap iron sheets, bars and chains,

The rooftop:

These are not chimneys. They are called the Guardians of the Rooftop. Some say that they are giants that come alive under a full moon, I for one, know where George Lucas got some of his inspiration.

A champagne bottle glass topped chimney

This arch atop Casa Mila frames La Sagrada Familia, yes it was intentional

The truth is the attic with its brick work was worth every penny of the entry fee.

Gaudi constructed the attic on the slab of the top story. To avoid adding to the weight of the building, 270 catenary arches made of brick were used to support the roof terrace. A catenary arch is light, easy to build, supports itself and needs no buttressing. The Gateway Arch of Saint Louis is a catenary arch.

This building was designed with a garage. The intention of these huge doors was to allow entry by both humans and automobiles. Notice how the door that can be opened in the middle for cars, and on the two sides for humans.

Inside this vestibule is the entry hall.

The Symbolist painter Aleix Clapés (1850 – 1920) was commissioned to oversee the pictorial decoration of Casa Mila.

There is one apartment available for view in the building, but after Casa Battló it hardly seemed worth the effort.

Casa Calvet

Casa Calvet (which served as both a commercial property and a residence for its owner, a textile baron.

Gaudí scholars agree that this building is the most conventional of his works, partly because it had to be squeezed in between older structures and partly because it was sited in one of the most elegant sections of Barcelona. Its symmetry, balance and orderly rhythm are unusual for Gaudí’s works.

Three sculpted heads at the top although, I do not know which is which, are Sant Pere Màrtir Calvet i Carbonell (the owner’s father) and two patron saints.

The building sits at 48 Carrer de Casp. It is not open to the public, but does have, according to friends, a wonderful restaurant on the ground floor.

La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell

Barcelona

Oct 172021

October 2021

What do you say about any Gaudi building in Barcelona? They have been photographed, published, visited, and shown on TV, ad nauseam. But what would be posts about Barcelona without Gaudi. Let us begin with his two most well known projects.

La Sagrada Familia – Basilica of the Holy Family

To begin with, it is truly impossible to capture the entire Basilica in one photograph. If you get far enough back, you are in a lovely park, and the trees block your view.

There is so much occurring on the front of the Basilica, which is called the Nativity Facade, that it would take a lifetime to absorb.

Construction of the Sagrada Família began under architect Francisco de Paula del Villar in 1882. A year later Villar quit and Gaudí took over as chief architect, transforming the project with his own architectural and engineering style, combining Gothic and Art Nouveau forms.

Construction has been going on for 136 years. When still alive and asked why the building was taking so long, Gaudi replied, “My client isn’t in a hurry.” When La Sagrada Familia is completed, it will have taken longer to build than the Pyramids, and only 50 years less than the Great Wall of China. It is expected to be completed in 2026, the centennial of Gaudi’s death.

The city of Barcelona is filled with buildings by Gaudi, but by the end of his life, when he was working on nothing but the Sagrada Familia, he was dressing in rags instead of buying new clothes, so that all his income could go the project, which was being funded entirely by donations. Gaudi died in 1926 and is buried in the crypt underneath the main floor of the Basilica.

His death, was in part due to his wearing rags. He was struck by a tram on one of his daily walks and didn’t receive much medical attention because it was thought he was a vagrant. The next day the chaplain of the Sagrada Família identified him as Gaudi, but by then his injuries had progressed too far and he passed away three days later.

At the Paris Exhibition of 1910, crowds formed long lines to view the plaster model of the building in progress, which then included stone cherubim with wind-propelled wings that would ring bells.

The interior pillars start square as the base, become octagonal, then circular, before transforming into tree-like limbs interlaced at ceiling height, to emphasis that nature is elevated over the handiwork of man.

The existing completed towers each bear words that together spell out a Latin prayer. When told that no one could read the script, Gaudi replied, “The angels can.” When La Sagrada Familia is completed, it will have 18 towers. 12 of the towers will represent the apostles, four of them will represent the evangelists, one will be designated for the Virgin Mary, and the last one, the highest one in the middle, will represent Jesus Christ.

The rear of the Basilica’s facade is called the Passion Facade. The steeples of this portion were completed in 1976, and in 1987 a team of sculptors, headed by Josep Maria Subirachs, began work sculpting the various scenes and details of the façade. Gaudí intended for this façade to strike fear into the onlooker. He wanted to “break” arcs and “cut” columns, and to use the effect of chiaroscuro to show the severity and brutality of Christ’s sacrifice.

The cathedral has its critics and its fans: George Orwell called it hideous and Pablo Picasso said it was a monstrosity, but Salvador Dali declared it “as sensual as a woman’s skin.”

During the Spanish Civil War Catalan anarchists knew better than to destroy the building, so they destroyed all the renderings and models to make it impossible to finish.

In the 1980s computer scientists took scraps of remaining plans, handwritten notes by Gaudi, and photos of the existing construction to determine what the rest was intended to look like, thus speeding up construction.

Inside the towers, Gaudi designed a set of tubular bells comprising a carillon covering seven full octaves, which is every note on a piano.

There are several doors at the rear, I was fascinated by the rubbing of the key and the shell on this particular one, that have made them shiny.

The gospel doors on the rear contain text from the New Testament depicting the Passion of Christ. 8,000 bronze characters were used to cast the door.

Fruit atop the towers represent Gaudi’s love of nature and his desire to incorporate nature throughout. The various fruits represent the different seasons.

Gaudi took a very different tack with the use of stained glass in La Sagrada Familia. Gaudí sought out maximum contrast. The most transparent stained-glass windows are those highest up, (in contrast to most churches where they are lower to the congregation) so that the light can stream in and illuminate the mosaics and vaults that characterize the nave.
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Antoni Gaudi by Josep M. Subirachs

The advantage of visiting during Covid is that the crowds, while still large, were not as overwhelming as one might expect. However, both the crypt and all of the towers were closed to visitors. Return trips are warranted, and needed, when trying to wrap ones head around a project this massive and complex.

If there is anything you want to know about La Sagrada Familia, their website is second to none.

Parc Güell

Eusebi Güell hired Gaudi to develop an estate in the the Muntanya Pelada (bare mountain) just outside of Barcelona. Originally, there were to be some 60 triangular-shaped lots on the estate, with a complex network of paths, viaducts and steps to help negotiate the steep terrain. The building conditions were also restrictive. Only one-sixth of the lot could be built on and the height and placement of the houses were not to block the neighboring properties view of the sea or access to sunlight. Güell wanted to recreate the British residential parks, which is why he named it Park Güell, in English.

The main entrance is flanked by two whimsical Gaudi buildings. Today they function as ticket sales, store and miscellaneous services for the park.

A window of one of the entry way buildings

Primarily due to a lack of interested buyers the project was abandoned in 1914, with only two houses having been built. The park became a large private garden, which Güell allowed to be used for public events.

Once you enter you are greeted by the main staircase. Here you will find three fountains representing Catalonia. There is a circle that symbolizes the world, a snake whose symbolism is in question and the third which is a colorful salamander.

The stairway ends in a space called the Hipóstila Chamber or Chamber of the Hundred Columns. This large open plaza was built between 1907 and 1909 to be a market hall.

Looking up at the ceiling of the hipostilla

Walking up the stairs you arrive at the most photographed area of all of Parc Guell. The plaza, designed as a Greek theater, and surrounded on 3 sides by a serpentine tiled bench.

Tiles inlaid in the walls as you walk up to the plaza

To me, some of the more interesting objects throughout the property were the viaducts. Gaudí designed the viaducts to be the connection between different plots of the “City”.

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The retaining wall that supports the path that traverses the entire park takes the form of a portico with the profile of a wave. It is popularly known as the Portic de la Bugadera (Portico of the Washerwoman) because of this one column.

Eusebi Güell died in his home on the property, in 1918, and his heirs offered the park to the City Council, which agreed to purchase it in 1922.

The park was recognized as an artistic monument in 1969 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

There is so much more to both of these sites, but it is hard to believe that, even if you have never been to either of them, you know so much about them.

A Plethora of Art and Architecture around Barcelona

Barcelona

Oct 172021

October 2021

Joan Miro Park

This large sculpture by Joan Miro draws you to the Joan Miro park. There is a research library within the park, as well as just stunning areas to sit and relax, and playgrounds for children.

This sculpture, Woman and Bird, is typical of Miro’s work and was constructed in 1983, just before his death. Miro (1893 – 1983) was born in Barcelona.

The Barcelona Pavilion

As so many things when one travels, I made a special trip to the Barcelona Pavilion, only to find it closed for a concert. The only time the pavilion is ever closed. The delightful thing about the pavilion however, is you can get a sense of it in its entirety by simply standing outside.

The Barcelona Pavilion was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich as the German national pavilion for the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition specifically as an area for the official reception by King Alfonso XIII of Spain to meet with the German authorities.

In 1930, after the closure of the Exhibition, the Pavilion was disassembled.

In 1980 Oriol Bohigas, as head of the Urban Planning Department at the Barcelona City Council, designated architects Ignasi de Solà-Morales, Cristian Cirici and Fernando Ramos to research, design and supervise the reconstruction of the Pavilion.

Work began in 1983 and the new building was opened on its original site in 1986.

Glass, steel and four different kinds of stone (Roman travertine, green Alpine marble, ancient green marble from Greece and golden onyx from the Atlas Mountains) were used for the reconstruction, all of the same characteristics used by Mies in 1929.

The famous Barcelona Chair, was designed by Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich for the pavilion. The chair is upholstered leather over a metallic frame and is still manufactured today. The sculpture is a bronze reproduction of the piece entitled Dawn by Georg Kolbe, a contemporary of Mies van der Rohe.

When walking to the Barcelona Pavilion, it is pretty hard to miss this rather spectacular fountain.

The Magic Fountain of Montjuïc was also constructed for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition.

The fountain sprays 700 gallons of water a second through 3620 jets to create its effect. The highest water spout is 170 feet.

The fountain was designed by Carles Buïgas, and sits on the previous location of The Four Columns. The construction of the fountain took over 3,000 workers. The fountain was badly damaged in the Spanish Civil War and did not operate again until 1955.

The Four Columns

The Four Columns (“Les Quatre Columnes” in Catalan) were created by Josep Puig i Cadafalch and erected in 1919.

They symbolized the four stripes of the Catalan senyera, and were intended to become one of the main icons of Catalanism. However, for that very reason, they were demolished in 1928 during Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship, when all public Catalanist symbols were systematically removed so as not to be noticed during the 1929 Exposition.

In 1999, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona commissioned Italian sculptor Andreu Alfaro to create these four new columns. These are considerably taller than the originals and are of red granite.

The building at the top of the hill is the National Museum of Art.

Looking off to the right of the four columns you can spot the top of Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava’s Olympic Flame.

Turning your back on the four columns you look across the Magic Fountain to the Venetian Columns. These too were part of the exposition, and took their name from their resemblance to the Campanile at St. Marks in Venice.

Built in 2005, this project by EMBT was the result of a competition to restore the original Santa Catarina City Market. The market was closed when I visited, with the exception of outdoor restaurants, more than likely due to Covid. Seeing it during this time, makes me feel this wasn’t a fail, but it wasn’t a success either. Having studied it prior to seeing it, it appears the roof is the most amazing part, and that is impossible to appreciate from the street level.

Now a flamenco dance venue the Palau Dalmases dates back to the 14th century, the facade was remodeled by merchant and nobleman Pau Ignasi Dalmases, who lived there between 1690 and 1705. One of the more fun facts about the building is that it was the meeting place of the Academy of Desconfiats (Academy of the Distrustful) a group of aristocrats that gathered to study all sorts of cultural subjects. The members were known as the Els savis del Born or The Wise Born.

I tripped upon this giant chicken wire sculpture while wandering in the Gothic Quarter. Located in Plaça de Sant Miquel created by Antoni Llena i Font and erected in 2019.

Wandering the streets I have found so many whimsical, interesting and different pieces of street art, and old architecture. Here is just a smattering.

This is centered in the mural below, and hard to read without this close-up. It was taken in the Gracia section of Barcelona

These fellas were hanging in a very narrow alley way. The walls of entire street was festooned with birds, fish and wild animals

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This has been from the ridiculous to the sublime, I do hope you enjoyed it.

Barcelona’s Art Nouveau

Barcelona

Oct 162021

October 2021

Upon my first arrival to Barcelona I was instantly struck by two things. It would take more time than I could ever allot to see this city the way I would want to, and there is so much more to it than Gaudi.

I spent a good part of my day just wandering, and there are so many things that stood out, but what took my breath away, and had me spending far more time than I had expected was Sant Pau Recinte Modernista.

The entire complex was made possible thanks to Barcelona banker Pau Gil i Serra, who set part of his estate aside for the construction of a hospital named after Saint Paul, to serve to the poor.

The original complex was designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner and built in two phases: the first, from 1902 to 1913, when the architect created 13 Modernista buildings; and the second, from 1920, when his son Pere Domènech i Roura built another six buildings in a moderate Modernista style.

Domènech i Montaner conceived the hospital as a ‘city-garden’ so the cruz of the complex runs from north to south so that the maximum amount of light would shine on the main facades. The buildings feature an explosion of ceramics, exposed brick, and sculptures with extensive religious and historic iconography.

The complex sits in the neighborhood of El Guinardó, and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Looking out of the second floor window down onto the center of the complex

A fully functioning hospital until June 2009, it is now used as a museum and cultural center.

Although Domènech’s original scheme was for 48 buildings, only 27 were actually constructed, of which just 16 were according to the original Modernista plan.

Modernista architecture, also known as Catalan modernism, is only found in the city of Barcelona. It was a widespread art movement representing the Catalan renaissance. The movement corresponded with the Art Nouveau movement and the two can be found well intertwined around Barcelona.