Having only had room to travel with a guidebook of France, my trip to Spain was rather unplanned. The only intention I had for Barcelona was to see Antoni Gaudi’s unusual, imaginative, buildings. So I started my first day in Barcelona with a walking tour of Gaudi’s Barcelona. The buildings were absolutely amazing, so despite my unlikeable guide’s screeching voice, her humorless stories and the fact that she seemed to know less about Gaudi than I did (after minimal study in high school) I managed to enjoy myself.
The first of his buildings I was already acquainted with, The Palau Güell apartment building, which I walked past daily from my hostel into the city. It was one of the first commissions Gaudi received, when his reputation of being terrible to work with and constantly going over budget began. The building was the better for it, I imagine, what I saw of the interior through the gates was very flash and I particularly liked the crazily colourful chimneys.
Casa Mila was one of the last projects Gaudi worked on, and again his commissioner fought with him regularly. It stands out it the street though as a testament to Gaudi’s love of organic lines and shapes in his work… and his obsession with odd shaped chimneys.
‘Basillica de la Sagrada Familia’ was unbelievably impressive, pictures I had seen were nothing compared to standing beneath the structure. Construction of the basilica began in 1882 and is still unfinished today (it’s estimated to only be around fifty per cent finished!) due to the incredibly intricate work Gaudi’s plans involved, including amazing sculptures all over the building.
The church is designed with many different facades, including three main stages of Jesus’ life. The first, the ‘Nativity façade’ depicts the birth, another ‘Passion façade’ his life and subsequent death, and the third, ‘Glory façade’ and the final scene, the entry to the church, will show his eternal life.
One of Gaudi’s most famous homes, Casa Batlló was the only building I actually made it inside of (due to my own time and budget constraints). It was absolutely unreal, there was so much thought and effort put into every little detail, from doorknobs to window latches and the furniture was all made by the artist himself as well.
The legend is that the apartment is telling the story of a dragon being slain. The spiral staircase in the entrance is spine-like, the tiles are scale-like, the pillars are bone-like. There’s also a sea theme throughout shown in the curved walls, doors, windows and ceilings that all suggest wave like movement while the colours – mother of pearl and pale blue to dark navy are rather aquatic. The roof looks like a large dragon tale swooshing about and is as colourful as the rest of the façade and the mosaic chimneys.
Another theory is that the design depicts a festival, with masquerade masks and confetti… that doesn’t explain all the bones though.
What amazing buildings. I can understand why you liked Barcelona so much.
Thanks mum 🙂