Earlier this evening, I went on a short Barcelona, 19th Century tour done by an IES staff. He explained how Barcelona started as a small section of it's current city when the Romans built walls around the area. Soon, due to urban overgrowth, the walls were destroyed in the 19th century and barcelona started to expand. Small villages that was not part of Barcelona combined and became part of the city. He explained that the design of the city out of the city center was based on the grid system as seen in most big cities in the states. It was also easy to orient oneself in Barcelona as everything is either uphill to the hills/mountains or downhill to the Mediterranean.
He brought us to La Sagrada Familia and explained a little about the Gaudi's modernistic architecture and the influence of romanicism in the architecture too. Boy was La Sagrada Familia an extravagant architectural masterpiece..the facades were so detailed. The different sculptures on the facade tell different stories. There were so many facades and they were designed with relation to the bible. The cathedral was not even finished yet. Gaudi wants the cathedral to be built only by charity money. The project has been going since the 2nd half of 19th century and it is still not done. It is expected to be done in 2025.
Seeing the cathedral and noticing the roads and design of the city while we walk gave me a good sense of appreciation for town planning. I was awed by how one person can visualize a town system and have it materialized as something that others will reap the benefit from. Anything is possible.
The IES stafff then brought us along the Avenue of Gaudi, a diagonal that cut right through a block which leads to Hospital Sant Pau, the 2nd oldest hospital in the world to look at the marvelous architecture, the thoughts that were put in designing the hospital - that ensure the allowance of plenty of natural lighting, the use of polychromy and the avaibility of nice landscapes for patients well-being/recovery. The hospital would be closed down next summer though as it was inefficient. The design of the hospital with different pavilions for different departments with underground tunnels linking them requires high maintenance. Hence, a new hospital is being built and the hospital will soon be a museum. From the hospital, we can look downhill and the road leads directly to La Sagrada Familia. Muy interesante! Btw, both these buildings were named World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
Ah...what a wonderful day. Another miracle happened. My host mum's niece just gave birth to a son. My host mum was so happy. =) As they say, happiness spreads easily. It made me happy too.
La Sagrada Familia (The Sacred Family)
Hospital de Sant Pau (St Paul's Hospital)
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