Barcelona

Antoni Gaudí. “Antoni” is the Catalan form of Anthony. He was born in 1852 in Catalonia and became the most famous architect associated with Barcelona.

Gaudí is closely tied to the movement called Catalan Modernisme — related to Art Nouveau, but with a distinctly Catalan identity. His work mixed:

* nature-inspired forms,
* religious symbolism,
* engineering experimentation,
* and highly decorative surfaces using tile, iron, glass, and stone.

Barcelona in the late 1800s was expanding rapidly after the old city walls came down. Wealthy industrial families wanted ambitious new buildings, and Gaudí became one of the architects shaping the city’s identity.

His most famous work is Basílica de la Sagrada Família, the enormous unfinished basilica that began construction in 1882. Gaudí devoted the last part of his life almost entirely to it. He died in 1926 after being struck by a tram in Barcelona.

Other major Gaudí works in Barcelona include:

* Park Güell — originally planned as an upscale housing development; now a public park with mosaics and organic architecture.
* Casa Batlló — famous for its wave-like façade and dragon-inspired roof.
* Casa Milà — also called La Pedrera; notable for its sculptural stone exterior and surreal rooftop chimneys.
* Palau Güell — an earlier mansion showing his developing style.

A major reason Barcelona feels visually different from many European cities is that Gaudí and the Modernista architects treated buildings almost like living sculptures rather than rigid classical.

I booked the night tour of Casa Milà, also called “La Pedrera” (“The Stone Quarry”), one of the most famous buildings by Antoni Gaudí.

At night there are projected lights on the exterior shapes. But I thought the best part was viewing the city at night.

And I thought some of the photos are really nice. I will be adding them to our website soon.Read more