Barcelona travel blog part nine -- Gaudi Tour

True confessions ... I did not know anything about Barcelona before booking a trip there. I knew even less about Gaudi. I still cannot tell you his first name. That said, once his name kept popping up, I knew we needed to learn more about it, so I booked a free walking tour in English to learn more.

A word to the wise, unless you have a very specific passion or mobility issues, seek out free tours before paying a lot of money. In the words of Ross, our Scottish tour guide, he feels "incentivized" to give us a good tour. 

Our two-hour tour was the Gaudi and Modernism Tour through Civitis, starting at Placa Catalana and ending at Sagrada Familia, which involved a subway ride.

Ross clearly loves history. Before seeing anything by Gaudi, or hearing his name, Ross gave us the history of Barcelona. Let's see how well I took notes...

We were standing about where the walls surrounding the city ended. Beyond the walls were countryside until 1860. Placa Catalana was outside of the walls. The city was trapped inside the walls and could not expand. During the Industrial Age there was a need for factories to industrialize Spain, but no room for them inside the walls. In 1860 the walls came down with the approval of the government in Madrid.

Then the great debate took place ... how should Barcelona expand? Hausman's design of Paris was seen to be the ideal: 5-6 story buildings with lots of parks, each section a self-contained mini city. They hired a contractor who divided the area into 113 meter x 113 meter grids (the perfect distance for a 30-45 minute walk). Each block would have a garden in the center, and include the basic facilities (church, government, school, etc.) and be a utopian socialist city. 

The locals did not like the plan. Instead in the 1890s what we see now was what was built. It is still lovely, and very walkable.

Enter Antoni Gaudi and the Modernism era which was sweeping the world (Art Nouveau in France, Art Deco in the United States). Industrialism means they wealthy now have money and they want to show it off. There is a cultural renaissance taking place in Catalonia. Today the Art Nouveau with a Catalonian twist is recognized by UNESCO.

There were three leaders in the movement:

Antoni Gaudi, Lluis Domenech i Montaner, and Josep Cadafalch. 

We headed to the Passage de Gracia to see examples of their work. Look at the side walks, and how functional they are, yet can be mass produced. Throughout Barcelona we noticed just how pretty the side walks were-- just because something is mass produced it doesn't mean they can't also look nice.

Gaudi was born two hours away from Barcelona. He was the son of a metal working family, which also inspired his designs. He preferred working with models to drawing. As a sickly child, he spent a lot of time in nature studying pine cones, trees, branches. This was another big influence in his creations.

He was an intently religious man, attending Catholic mass twice a day, even as he was building his famous church. He mostly did not eat meat or drink alcohol. He never married, there is not even a record of him having a relationship. He dedicated his life to religion and art. His politics and ideas were similar to the wealthy of the time, which is how he gained favor with them. He met Sr. Guell (of Park Guell) at the Paris Exposition when he was displaying his furniture.

I learned a new term on this tour: the apple of discord. According to Wikipedia the term means the "core, kernel, or crux of an argument, or a small matter tha could lead to a bigger dispute." The post goes on to describe this section of the Passage de Gracia where five vastly different examples of Modernism is on display.

The first house we looked at is called Casa Lleo i Morera by architect Lluis Domenech i Montaner. 

The original owner was a college professor who taught Gaudi when he was a student. Between 1902 and 1906 Gaudi refurbished this home. The home features organic shapes and the history of Catalonia and the famil. 

Rumor has it, during the Spanish Civil War there was a machine gun in the tower. 

What us Americans consider the first floor used to have a lot more sculptures on it. The guide said the house is not as beautiful as it once was. It is still quite stunning. The sculptures were used to show of the owner's wealth.

Here is where I wish I had brought my stronger lens. It was in our room, but not on us. One way to show wealth was to include sculptures by Eusebi Arnau of people using modern (1902-1906) technology ... a camera, gramophone, and lightbulbs. 

Next up is Casa Amattler, which is guide Ross's favorite house on this stretch of road. 

Josep Cadafalch was the architect. His claim to fame is that he hated it when every street looked the same -- he would have hated Post-WWII American suburbia with its cookie cutter homes. He took what he liked from different cultures (from Mediterranean to Dutch/Flemish) and put them together. He threw in some gargoyles (Catalonian influence) doing something modern (such as holding a camera).

Casa Amattler is open for tours.

Right next door is the piece of architecture we saw on this tour (not counting the sidewalk tiles): Casa Batllo (which is also open for tours). The home was commissioned to stand out. Note the different roof styles. Ross pointed out the architects were respectful of each other and played off each other's styles. I'll take his word for it. 

Gaudi's inspiration came from St. George the patron saint of Barcelona and the slayer of dragons. I have not been a fan of St. George ever since I learned about him in Stockholm. How could I like him when I love Glinda. That's like voting Republican and saying you love your LGBT friends and family (not to mention women in general, school children, and others). I can still appreciate his style of scaly tiles and giant dragon on the top. The skeletal balconies are a bit creepy, but I can appreciate how he uses nature as an influence.

The home is curvy on the inside (must make placing furniture a challenge). It was a private residence until the 1940s, and is now a museum. The house includes a private chapel so the owners didn't have to leave to worship. 

The mosaic references how broken up pieces can be recycled and made to look beautiful again.

The Mila family commissioned Gaudi to create their new home up the street. They loved Casa Batllo and wanted something just like it. Instead they got:

At least the curves are the same on both Casa Batllo and Casa Mila. The husband hated it. The wife loved it. The press called it "la pedrara" -- a pile of stones. It is one of the first steel frames in Barcelona. It is designed to look like a sea wall -- with sea weed balconies. It's biggest claim to fame is it had the first underground parking in Barcelona in what is now a restaurant. 

While the outside looks like a fortress, the inside is much softer. The sculptures on the terrace (again, wishing I had my zoom lens) is designed to hide the ventilation system with guards on top wearing helmets. It was a private residence until the 1960s when Sra. Mila passed away. Gaudi finished it in 1911. It was his last private home commission.

From here we took the metro two stops to Sagrada Familia. We could have walked the distance -- Don and I did the night before, but it is a 25 minute walk with not much to look at. In some ways, this was the most entertaining part of the trip. We were divided into thirds: one-third left the group before entering the metro station, one-third had their metro cards at the ready (we were in this third), and one-third felt this was "una granda adventura" (I kid you not, a woman said this at least three times) and had no idea how the metro worked. Since it basically worked the same as any other metro in the world that I have ridden, I think they had thus far avoided riding mass transit in their lives. Our guide was patient. 

Two stops later we got off (at the first stop, many of us had to leave the crowded car to allow others to get off -- I thought we'd lose someone, but we didn't) at the aptly names Sagrada Familia stop.

They hoped the project would be finished by 2026 in honor of the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death. The answer given on websites is that COVID set them behind, both in their ability to do the work and to fundraise through tours. Looking at the project in 2022, there is no hope of adding three years on and being finished by 2029. The biggest obstacle is that someone decided it would be a great idea to raise money by selling the prime real estate on the side of the church -- the same place where they are planning to build an ornate third side dedicated to the Glory of God. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Unlike the night before, we started on this side: the Nativity. On Monday we will get closer and be able to study the sculptures. Today's tour is a quick overview. In the late 19th century the religious sect known as the Josephines wanted to get more people to church so they decided to build an enormous church so "breathtaking that as soon as you saw it you'd have no choice but to become a good Christian again." The initial architect designed a neo-gothic church that was fashionable at the time. He left before the job was even started. Enter Gaudi, a good Catholic who had favor with the wealthy in town. Someone had a religious vision to give it to the man with the stunning blue eyes -- fortunately for Gaudi he had the blue eyes, the political connections, and the talent for the job.

The church was built on the outskirts of town where the land was cheap. Remember back to the beginning of the tour when the walls came down in 1860. This was started in 1882.

His vision is for three sides with ornate sculptures: nativity, passion, and glory. He knew he would not be alive to see it finished (churches of this magnitude take generations to be complete).  There are to be 18 towers (12 disciples + 4 apostles + Mary + Jesus (the tallest). At its highest point it should be 117 meters, making it just shorter than Montjuic because man should not compete with God.

The church is made out of load bearing stone from Montjuic (it really is amazing there is a mountain left standing since so much of Barcelona was built with its stone). Now they use artificial stone designed to match.

(One of the neat things about tours is the guides have spent time locating the best, least crowded, views.)

Gaudi was not in a rush. In his words "my client can afford to wait," meaning God. 

The fruit seen on the tops of the towers represents fruit grown both in Barcelona and Israel.

We walked over to the unfinished south side -- the area where they have sold the property as an short-sighted fundraiser. They will hold a vote in May to decide if the people are being kicked out, or if the church will have to come up with a new plan.

Original plans called for the entrance to go over the road. Four more terraces are to be added to the entrance in the center. The symbolism is a vision of hell beneath the entrance, and heaven above it. As you walk in there will be a baptismal font so you have one last chance to join the worthy before entering the church.

Front/West side is the narrative of the passion story. It was created in the 1970s by a different architect. It is modern/angular with pillars based on tree trunks (Gaudi would approve). The leaning crucifix is based on a Dali painting that generated a public outcry at the time. 

The North side has no plans to have a theme attached to it. Its design is structural.

Gaudi died in 1926. He was hit by a tram on his way to church. In 1911 he built Casa Mila, then became so obsessed with Sagrada Familia (which means Holy Family in English) he sold his possessions and moved into this construction project. He became a hermit and grew a really long beard. When he was dying after being hit by the tram he was taken to the paupers hospital. When he didn't return to work, people looked for him. When they found it, they offered to pay to move him to the better hospital (down the street from Sagrada Familia). He said he was fine, and died two days later. Ten thousand people lined the street to pay their respects when he died. He is buried in the basement of the church along with the founder of the Josephines.

After the tour we got speculoos gelato (along with Ferrer Rocher, After Mint 8, and Nutella). The speculoos brought back memories of living in Belgium. We returned the next day for just the speculoos gelato. They included a speculoos cookie, which inspired me to go to the grocery store to bring more home.

Our stroll home took us past the Hospital St. Pau, followed by an outing to Aldi's (written in the last post).

Fortified by ice cream, we walked to the Lego Store on Passage Gracia, and stopped in front of Gaudi's Botlle house to see it at night.

We had dinner on the street near our Airbnb. The nice thing about dining within walking distance is being able to have a sangria and now worry about the drive home. We were pleased to see so many places open late enough for us to have dinner at 11 pm the next night after we see Pretty Woman.