Archive - December 2, 2013

Barcelona is worth a visit just to see the works of Catalonia’s Modernist architect Antoni Gaudí   (1852-1926). Gaudí was born close to Barcelona and was sent there at seventeen to study  architecture. His teachers found him ‘difficult’ because of his ‘strange’ ways of treating structural shapes. That didn’t stop him. Gaudí is noted for his reflection of nature in his designs, from curved construction stones, twisted iron sculptures, and brightly colored tiles arranged in mosaic patterns. Among the 14 keys works of Gaudí in Barcelona, the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia, is the most famous. It is, in fact, the No.1 most visited attraction in Barcelona. This giant Basilica that has been under construction since 1883 and it’s not expected to be completed for another 30 to 80 years. Consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI in November 2010, it is a synthesis of Gaudí’s architectural theory and practice. Gaudí worked . . .