The home of Picasso and Gaudi, Barcelona is a fun city to visit or a serious city to visit if you are a connoisseur of the arts. Picasso lived his formative years in the city where his father was an artist and an art teacher. Picasso could draw before he could talk, so some say the talent was genetic, but the father of the Cubanism movement was undoubtedly born with talent. After his death his family opened the Museu Picasso in the gothic area of Barcelona to showcase his talents.
A must when visiting Barcelona is a visit to gallery to view not only his Cubanism masterpieces but his works of art as a child, a teenager and an adult. Even those who are not fans of Picasso and his later works are in awe of his talent as an artist. But you can’t forget the other important master of Barcelona and that is Gaudi. From his awe insping cathedral La Sagrada Familia to the Castillo Battlo, Gaudis work is unable to be imitated and remains to this day etched in our language with the term Gaudy coming directly from his name.
Gaudi’s work was always over the top and original, and it was this originality that cost him his life. Backing up across a busy road in Barcelona to view the latest changes or additions to his masterpiece the La Sagrada Familia, he was run over by a tram. So lost in thought was he that he didn’t hear the approaching tram. His church to this day is incomplete. At the time of his death he was 25 years into the designing and building, and to this day it is hoped that it will be completed on the 100th anniversary of his death in 2026, but for the time being work continues.
Barcelona is the capital of Catalunya one of the wealthiest provinces in Spain and to this day is fighting for independence. The Catalons are fiercely proud of their city and its rich history. Walking the Ramblas, visiting the bird market, seeing a replica of Christopher Colombus Santa Maria in the harbor, and wondering how that boat every made it to America -it is a city of life. The night brings the streets alive with restaurants and bistros open until all hours. But is it the rich history of Picasso and Gaudi that make the city truly memorable.
"I wrote every day between the ages of 12 and 20 when I stopped because I went to Barcelona, where life was too exciting to write."" – Colm Tóibín