Barcelona is the most populous city of theAutonomous Community of Catalonia and

the second largest city in Spain.

Founded as a Roman city, Barcelona became the capital of the Counts of Barcelona.

As the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona houses the seat of the Catalan government, known as the Generalitat de Catalunya.

Passeig de Gràcia is both one of the major avenues in Barcelona and also one of its

most important shopping and business areas, containing several of the city's most celebrated pieces of architecture.

Plaça Catalunya is a large square in central Barcelona that is generally considered tobe both its city centre and the place wherethe old city and the 19th century-builtEixample meeting point.

La Rambla is a street in central Barcelona, popular with both tourists and locals alike. A 1.2 kilometer-long tree-lined pedestrian mall in the Barri Gòtic, it connects Plaça Catalunya in the center with the Christopher Columbus monument at Port Vell. Usually full of street theatre, cafés and market stalls, it serves as the emotional hub of Barcelona.

The beautiful neighbourhood known as the Gothic Quarter is so called because it used to be the Roman village and thus has some remnants of its glorious past.

The Gothic quarter has many peaceful squares (plaça) where you can relax and enjoy your surroundings. However one of the main attractions, right in the heart of the district is the huge Cathedral which has a stunning courtyard full of plants and oddly geese.

Portal de l’ Angel

The former entrance gate to the city in the Roman Wall, it takes its name from the angel which was put there in the 17th century as a memorial to the miracle of the Archangel Saint Michael, who appeared at the moment of the moving of the body of Saint Eulàlia. The original angel can be found in the History of the City Museum.

Plaça del Rei

Giving access to the Royal Palace and the Royal Chapel no other name was possible or this space which has been defined as "the most noble urban element of the old Barcelona".

PLAÇA SANT JAUME

The point at which the two main streets of the Roman City crossed, nowadays host the two most important political institutions of the city, the Town Council and the Autonomous Government.

The Picasso Museum in Barcelona is a keyreference to understandi the formative

years of Pablo Ruiz Picasso. The young artistis revealed through more than 3,800 worksthat make up the permanent collection. The Museum is very rich in regard to work

from the training periods in the life of theartist; we could say that it is practicallyexhaustive up to the Blue Period, of whichthe Museum has a priceless group of works.

We hope you will enjoy

our city…

Raquel Cordero

Angel Garrido

Inma Gómez

Marta Porcel

1er Batxillerat A

Antoni Gaudi was born in 1852 in Tarragona

in a family of artisans. He was the first Gaudi

in over four generations to leave the family

tradition of metalworking.

He moved to Barcelona in 1873 and began

his architectural education at the Provincial

School of Architecture. Although he did not

have superior grades, he earned

“excellent” marks in the courses of Trial

drawings and Projects. Descriptions of

“insane” and “genius” were used to talk

about the artist.

Biography

On 7 June 1926 Gaudí was run over by a tram. He died three days later on 10

June 1926 at the age of 73. He was buried in the midst of La Sagrada Família.

Gaudi started the building of the Sagrada Familia in 1883, spending 43 years of

his life working on this project. He also began Park Guell, and many other

projects in Barcelona, Casa Batlló and La Pedrera are the most important.

As an architect, he was influenced by many things: medieval books, gothic-

style art, and organic shapes in nature..

Antoni Gaudí belonged to the Modernism movement and was famous for his

unique style and highly individualistic designs.

Modernism was the Catalan equivalent to a number of art movements, such

as Symbolism, Decadence and Art Nouveau, from roughly 1888 to 1911.

Gaudí built most of his works in Barcelona but we can find some of his

buildings in other parts of Catalonia and Spain. “Hotel Atraction” in New York

was one of Gaudi’s projects, but he never started this building. “Sagrada

Familia”, the most famous modernist building, isn’t finished yet.

Palau Güell Casa Batlló Casa Botines (León)

El Capricho (Cantabria) Church of Colonia Güell Casa Vicens

This building, called Casa Milà, is

more known by his Catalan name

“La Pedrera” according to the

surprising stony aspect of its front.

It was built between1906-1910,

being considered officially

completed in 1912. It is located at

Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona. It

was built for the married couple,

Rosario Segimon and Pere Milà.

Casa Mila was in poor condition in the early 1980s but it has been restored.

The building is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Works of Antoni

Gaudi” and it is owned by Caixa Catalunya.

He adapted the curve formes of his fantasy in the terraces or roofs which are

decorated by fragments of marble. There are chimneys in spiral form, the top part

of them seem medieval helmets.

The big blocks of stone were carved in the same place of the construction giving

them a rugose texture of natural stone. It hasn’t got load walls, not even in the front,

which is an important innovation. It is supported on pillars and metallic girders, so

without any problem, we could change all his interior distribution.

•“The Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia”, known simply as the

Sacred Family, is a great catholic temple of Barcelona, designed by the

Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. It started in 1882, and nowdays is still being

built. It is Gaudí's masterpiece, and the maximum exponent of the modernist

Catalan architecture.

• The construction began in Neogothic style, but, on having assumed the

project Gaudí in 1883, was completely restated. Gaudí became the architect

with only 31 years, dedicating the rest of his life.

•When the temple is finished, it will have 18 towers, 4 in every of the 3

façades and 6 on the center (one dedicated to Jesus, another 4 for the four

evangelist and another one for the Verge). When Gaudí died, there was only

one tower built.

•We can see that the catholic influence is very present in this church, there

are a lot of scene about Jesus’ life.

Façade of Hope:

The Three façades are:

Façade of Faith:

Façade of Charity:

Life Tree ,“Arbre de la vida”

Sagrada Familia at night.

Park Guell was commissioned by Eusebi Güell who wanted to create a

stylish park for Barcelona aristocracy.

The park contains amazing stone structures, stunning tiling and fascinating

buildings. You can see from this picture the Gaudi dragon fountain that is at

the entrance to Guell park. This dragon is adorned in beautiful coloured tiling

and there is something rather hypnotic and magical about it.

Gaudi was strongly influenced by natural shapes and used them in his work.

At the top of Guell park is a terraced area where you get a wonderful view of

the park and of Barcelona City. Here you will find multi-coloured tiled mosaic

seats as shown in this picture. The vibrant colours of the tiles are truly

breathtaking.

Park Guell also has a small house in the park which Gaudi lived in at one

stage. The house has now been converted into a museum and contains

interesting furniture also designed by Gaudi.

Montserrat's mountain is, according to the tradition, the most important and

mysterious mountain of Catalonia. It is situated in 50 km to the northwest of

Barcelona . In this mountain it places the sanctuary and Benedictine

monastery dedicated to the Verge of Montserrat.

"Montserrat" literally means "serrated mountain" in Catalan. It describes the

peculiar aspect of the rock formation, which is visible from a great distance

Information about the mountain

The summit of Montserrat is called Sant

Jeroni (Saint Jerome) and stands at 1,236

meters above sea-level. It is accessible by

hiking trails which connect from the top

entrance to the Sant Joan funicular, the

monastery, or the base of the mountain.

In the knight’s symbology (blasones),

Montserrat appears like a gold mountain

sawing the country.

The abbey can be reached by road, or by

the Aeri de Montserrat cable car, or by the

Montserrat Rack Railway.

Santa Maria de Montserrat is a Benedictine abbey located in

the Montserrat mountain, in Monistrol de Montserrat, in Catalonia.

It hosts the Virgin of Montserrat, and the “Publicacions de l'Abadia de

Montserrat”, a publishing house, the oldest press in the world, still

running with the first book published in 1499.

The monastery is Catalonia's most

important religious retreat and

groups of young people from

Barcelona and all over Catalonia

make overnight hikes at least once

in their lives to watch the sunrise

from the heights of Montserrat.

The Basilica houses a museum with works

of art by many prominent painters and

sculptors including works by El

Greco, Dalí, Picasso and more.

Virgin of Montserrat(the black virgin), is Catalonia's favourite saint, and is located in

the sanctuary of the Mare de Deu de Montserrat, next to the Benedictine monastery

Spirituality Since, according to the legend, the image of

the Virgin was founded at the Holly Cave,

and since the foundation of the monastery,

Montserrat has been linked to spirituality.

The mountain contains a high number of

smaller deserted churches and chapels.

The Virgin is called "the Moreneta" for its

dark color, it’s a Romanesque wood of the

end of the twelfth century, and the color is

the result of the transformation of the

varnish in that long period of time.

Legend In 880, a Saturday evening, some shepherds saw how a great light was

getting down from heaven, with a beautiful melody. The following Saturday,

the vision was repeated. And, the following four Saturdays the priest of

Olesa went with them to check that vision. The bishop, who was in Manresa,

went to this place and saw a cave where they found the Holy Image. He

proposed to move it to Manresa but it was so heavy that they couldn’t move.

The bishop interpreted this was like a desire of the Virgin to remain there

and he ordered to build a chapel.

ImportanceGreat poets like Goethe and Schiller Federico wrote about the mountain.

Montserrat became famous when Richard Wagner used this place to play

two of his operas, Parsifal and Lohengrin.

The festivityOn 11th September 1844, Pope Leo XIII officially declared the Virgin of

Montserrat as a patron of Catalonia. On the 27th of April people celebrate

the Virgin of Montserrat Day. The celebration of the Eucharist is celebrated

with numerous of events such as musical performances, sardanas dances,

lectures and special psalms and canticles.

Route 3: Barcelona 92

Olympic areas in BCN

Set of sports facilities built in four areas. The four areas include:

• Montjuic Olympic Ring, which includes the Stadium, Palau Sant Jordi and the Picornell swimming pools,

• Villa Olimpica Poblenou(converted later in a residential area), with the port and the residences of Olympic athletes

• Diagonal area, around the facilities of Football Club Barcelona and Real Club de Polo

• Valle de Hebrón.

Montjuïc. The Olympic Ring. Facilities

Montjuïc is a neighborhood and a mountain of Barcelona.

Olympica ring: This name which is called the space of Montjuïc where are the major facilities in the 1992 Olympics. In the Olympic ring there are this facilities:

1. Montjuic Olympic Stadium -Athletics, opening ceremonies and closing.

2. Palau Sant Jordi - Artistic Gymnastics and the final of volleyball and handball.

3. Bernat Picornell swimming pools - swimming, synchronized swimming and water polo final.

4. INEFC - Fight.

Plaça Espanya

Plaça d'Espanya is one of Barcelona's most important squares, built on the occasion of the 1929 International Exhibition, held at the foot of Montjuïc, in the Sants-Montjuïc district.

The fountain at the centre of the square was designed by Josep Maria Jujol, a collaborator of Antoni Gaudí, while Miquel Blay designed the statues.

Venetian Towers are 47 m tall and lead the way to the MNACvia Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina.

Fundació Miró

The Fundació Joan Miró, Centre d'Estudis d'Art Contemporani is a museum of modern art honoring Joan Miró and located on Montjuïc.

The Joan Miró Foundation opened to the public on 10 June 1975. It had its origins in Miró's first large exhibition in Barcelona, in 1968, at the Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu

The Joan Miró Foundation is a major point of reference on the international art circuit.Its programme of exhibitions runs from the work of the historical avant-gardes to the latest trends in today's art.

Aquarium

Barcelona's Aquarium is located in the Port Vell harbour area at the bottom end of the famous La Rambla boulevard.

This central location ensures there are a steady stream of visitors to sample its attractions; which include an 80 foot long moving tunnel through its oceanarium (housing many species of fish including sharks), and a total of 21 tanks with fish from all over the world.

Additionally the Aquarium runs a large interactive centre for children, with many activities and sections to learn about piranhas, penguins, alligators, rays and much more.

PALACE OF MNACThe Palace

The Palau National is the most spectacular building in Spain Square. It was built for the Universal Exposition of 1929,with the intent to build a monumental building. The architects were Enric Català and Pedro Cendoya, with the collaboration of Pere Domènech i Roure. The palace has undergone some restorations by the Italian architect GaeAulenti, and now houses the Catalonia National Art Museum (MNAC).

Medieval Painting

The museum has probably the greatest display of Romanesque items in the world, centred around a series of magnificent 12th century frescoes. The most remarkable are the wall paintings from Sant Climent de Taüll and Santa Maria de Taüll.

There’s also an expanding Gothic collection besides works by El Greco, Zurbarán and Velázquez. The museum also houses the entire body of 20th

century art, furniture and sculpture.

We strongly recommend the Romanesque and the Modernist period.

ROMANESQUE

Catalonia’s fine art has a long tradition. It began where Spanish medieval painting was born- in the Pyrenees, where Romanesque churches were brightened by bold frescoes full of imagination.

PAINTINGS AND SCUPTURES YOU WILL SEE..

19TH CENTURY- MODENISM

Barcelona’s art school opened above La Llotja in 1849 and new patrons of the arts appeared with wealth generated by the industrial revolution. Among the most outstanding artist, we could mention Marià Fortuny, who had lived in Rome and Paris . He had lived the first Impressionist exhibition in Paris and had a great influence on the painters who featured the Modernist movement: Santiago Rusiñol and Ramon Casas.

History

In the historic context of the Primo de Rivera

dictatorship and the 1929 International Exhibition, it was decided to build a village in Montjuïc that would become a synthesis of Spanish architecture and a craft showcase for Spain. It was preserved after the impact it made and because of the many voices who spoke out against its destruction. It was planned as a group of frames drawn from Spanish popular architecture which would be incorporated in a kind of collage.

The builders of the site, the architects Ramon Reventós and Francesc Folguera and the artists Xavier Nogués and Miquel Utrillo, tried to make a village where buildings representing the different regions of Spain would be reproduced. The four professionals made several trips around Spain to collect pictorial material. Along the way, they made hundreds of photographs, notes and drawings that made it possible to choose the elements best suited to the idea they had to put into effect.

AT PRESENT

Not only was the Village not demolished at the end

of the Exhibition, but it also survived . And now it has celebrated the seventy-fifth anniversary of its opening, the aim of capturing the attention of visitors continues to be the motto of this singular attraction.

Introduction

Sitges is a small city about 35 kilometers southwest of

Barcelona known worldwide for its Film Festival and Carnival. The city is between the hills and the sea it is known for its beaches, gay nightspots, and historical sites.

The CarnivalFor over a century, Sitges has been celebrating nonstop Carnestoltes, or Carnival.

CultureModern Sitges, preserving important references from the Middle Age and the old farmers’ and fishermen’s town, offers visitors an impressive architectural and cultural heritage, the result of initiatives by artists, cultural energizers and patrons like Santiago Rusiñol, Ramon Casas, Miquel Utrillo or Charles Deering.

The BeachesSitges has 17 sand beaches. There are urban beaches and two in the west, which have difficult access. The last one (Playa del Muerto) is the gay beach.

Gastronomy

Xató is Sitges' most typical dish. It appeared in the press for the first time in 1896. The report refers to a meal that had gathered together a selected group of Catalan artists and intellectuals, Santiago Rusiñol, Miquel Utrillo, Gaietà Buigas and others.