Architecture of Barcelona

Last updated

The architecture of Barcelona has undergone a parallel evolution alongside Catalan and Spanish architecture, reflecting the diverse trends found in the history of Western architecture. Throughout its historical development, Barcelona has been influenced by numerous cultures and civilizations, each contributing their artistic concepts and leaving a lasting legacy. The city's architectural heritage can be traced back to its earliest inhabitants, the Iberian settlers, followed by the Romans, Visigoths, and a brief Islamic period. In the Middle Ages, Catalan art, language, and culture flourished, with the Romanesque and Gothic periods particularly fostering artistic growth in the region.

Contents

History

During the Modern Age, when the Barcelona City was linked to the Hispanic Monarchy, the main styles were the Renaissance and the Baroque, developed from foreign styles coming from Italy and France. These styles were applied with various local variants, and although some authors claim that it was not a particularly splendid period, the quality of the works was in line with that of the state as a whole. [1]

The nineteenth century led to a certain economic and cultural revitalization, which reflected in one of the most fruitful periods in the city's architecture, Modernisme. Until the nineteenth century, Barcelona was corseted by its walls of medieval origin, being considered a military place, so its growth was limited. The situation changed with the demolition of the walls and the donation to the city of the Parc de la Ciutadella, which led to the expansion of the city along the adjoining plain, a fact that was reflected in the Eixample project designed by Ildefonso Cerdá. This was the largest territorial expansion of Barcelona. Another significant increase in the area of the city was the annexation of several bordering municipalities between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. All this meant the adaptation of the new urban spaces and an increase in municipal artistic commissions on public roads, which were also favored by various events held in the city such as the Universal Exhibition of 1888 and the International of 1929 or, more recently, for the Olympic Games of 1992 and the Universal Forum of the Cultures of 2004.

The twentieth century began with the updating of the various styles produced by Barcelonian architects, which connected with international currents. The architectural development in recent years and the commitment to design and innovation, as well as the link between urban planning, ecological values, and sustainability, have turned Barcelona into one of the most cutting-edge European cities in the architectural field, which has been recognized with numerous awards and distinctions such as the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1999 and the prize of the Venice Biennale in 2002. [2]

The architectural heritage of the city enjoys a special protection in virtue of the Law 9/1993 of the Catalan Cultural Heritage, that guarantees the protection, conservation, research and diffusion of the cultural heritage, with several degrees of coverage: level To (Cultural Good of National Interest), level B (Cultural Good of Local Interest), level C (Good of Interest Urbanístic) and level D (Good of Documentary Interest). [3]

Antiquity

Prehistory

Roman archaeological remains, Museum of the History of Barcelona Subsuelo M Hist BCN.JPG
Roman archaeological remains, Museum of the History of Barcelona

There is scarce vestiges of prehistoric period to the city. If well it is ascertained the human presence in the paleolithic, the first rests regarding the architecture proceed of the neolíthic, period in which the human being went back sedentary and happened of a subsistència based in the hunting and the recol·lecció to an agrarian economy and farmer. These first vestiges proceed of finals of the neolític (3500 - 1800 BC), and manifest mainly for the practices funeràries with sepulcres of pit, that were used to be of quite a lot depth and revestides of slabs. An exponent thereof is the grave discovered the 1917 to the spilling southwest of the hill of Monterols, between the streets of Muntaner and Copèrnic; of imprecise dating, has 60 cm of high and 80 of wide, and was formed by slabs flat of irregular shape. Regarding habitacles, of this period only has found a bottom of cabin in what is the current station of Saint Andreu Comtal. [4]

Of the Bronze Age (1800–800 BC) there is equally few rests regarding the plan of Barcelona. The main proceed of a jaciment discovered the 1990 to the street of Saint Pau, where have found rests of fireplaces and sepultures of inhumació individual. Also they are surely of this period the rests found the 1931 to Can Casanoves, behind the Hospital of Saint Pau, where have found rests of walls of stone and the bottoms of three circular cabins of some 180 cm of diameter. They exist for other band witnesses written of two megalithic monuments, situated in Montjuïc and Field of the Harp, of those that nevertheless has not remained any rastre material. Finally, of the calcolític final there are some scarce rests of the called «culture of the fields of urns», found to the farm of Can Don Joan, to Horta, and to the south slope-oriental of the mountain of Montjuïc, between the paths of the Ancient Mill and the Source of the Mamella.

Iberian period

Area inhabited by the Laietani Laietani.jpg
Area inhabited by the Laietani

In the 6th century BC and the 1st century BC the plan of Barcelona was occupied by the Laietani, an Iberian people that occupied the current comarques of the Barcelonès, the Vallès, the Maresme and the Bass Llobregat. The Iberian architecture based in murs of tapial, with a system adovellat, with false arches and turns realised by approach of spun. Cities used to be located in acropolis, with towers and solid walls for the defence, within which the houses were located, of an irregular distribution, generally with a rectangular plan. [5]

In Barcelona there are hardly any Iberian architectural remains; the main vestiges of this culture were found in the hills of La Rovira, Peira and Putget, as well as in Santa Cruz de Olorde in Tibidabo, but they have not allowed establishing special characteristics with regard to funeral homes or sepulchres. The main remains come from Rovira, where in 1931 vestiges of an Iberian settlement were found that were destroyed when anti-aircraft batteries were installed during the Spanish Civil War. Apparently, it had a wall with two accesses, while located outside the walls there was a set of silos with 44 deposits carved into the rock. [6]

The main Iberian settlement in the area was in Montjuïc, possibly the 'Barkeno', although the urbanization of the mountain in recent years and its intensive use as a stone quarry throughout the history of the city has caused the loss of most remains. In 1928, nine large capacity silos were discovered in the Magòria area, which would probably be part of an agricultural surplus warehouse. On the other hand, in 1984 remains of a settlement were found on the southwest slope of the mountain, on a plot of about 2 or 3 hectares.

Roman period

Map of Barcino superimposed on the current plan of the Gothic Quarter. Barcelona romana.png
Map of Barcino superimposed on the current plan of the Gothic Quarter.

In the third century BC C. the Romans arrived in the Iberian peninsula and began a colonization process that culminated in the incorporation of all Hispania into the Roman Empire. In the 1st century BC Barcino (Roman Barcelona) was founded, a small walled town that took the urban form of castrum and later oppidum . The Romans were great experts in civil architecture and engineering and provided roads, bridges, aqueducts and cities with a rational layout and basic services such as sewers.

The Barcino quarter was walled, with a perimeter of 1.5 km, which protected an area of 10.4 hectares. The first city wall, of simple factory, began to be built in the 1st century BC. It had few towers, only at the angles and at the gates of the walled perimeter. However, the first incursions of francs and Alamani from the 250s raised the need to reinforce the walls, which were extended in the fourth century. The new wall was built on the bases of the first, and was formed by a double wall of 2.4 metres, with space in half filled with stone and mortar. The wall consisted of 74 towers about 18 meters high, mostly rectangular. [7]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Triadó, 1984, p. 18.
  2. ↑ DDAA, 2002, p. 18.
  3. ↑ Patrimoni arquitectònic
  4. ↑ DDAA, 1991, p. 113-114.
  5. ↑ Azcárate Ristori; Pérez Sánchez; Ramírez Domínguez, 1983, p. 50.
  6. ↑ DDAA, 1991, p. 127.
  7. ↑ DDAA, 1998, p. 61.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eixample</span> District of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain

The Eixample is a district of Barcelona between the old city and what were once surrounding small towns, constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its population was 262,000 at the last census (2005).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mollerussa</span> Municipality in Catalonia, Spain

Mollerussa is the capital of the comarca of Pla d'Urgell, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. It is 250 metres above sea level. In 2010 it had a population of 14,733.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josep Puig i Cadafalch</span> Catalan architect (1867–1957)

Josep Puig i Cadafalch was a Catalan Modernista architect who designed many significant buildings in Barcelona, and a politician who had a significant role in the development of Catalan institutions. He was the architect of the Casa Martí, which became a place of ideas, projects and social gatherings for such well-known Catalans as Santiago Rusiñol and Ramon Casas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lluís Domènech i Montaner</span> Catalan architect (1850–1923)

Lluís Domènech i Montaner was a Catalan architect who was very much involved in and influential for the Catalan Modernisme català, the Art Nouveau/Jugendstil movement. He was also a Catalan politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Pobla de Lillet</span> Municipality in Catalonia, Spain

La Pobla de Lillet is a municipality in the comarca of the Berguedà in Catalonia. It is located in the upper valley of the Llobregat river and is linked to Guardiola de Berguedà by Road B-402.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordi Pagans i Monsalvatje</span> Spanish painter

Jordi Pagans i Monsalvatje was a Catalan and Spanish painter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordi Bolòs</span>

Jordi Bolòs i Masclans is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Lleida. Rural Catalan history, urban history and the landscape history has focussed his research in the study of the medieval society. He has published several historical atlases of the Carolingian counties of Besalú, Empúries-Peralada, Girona, Osona, Manresa, Urgell and Roussillon, Conflent, Vallespir and Fenouillèdes. Editor of the publication Territori i societat a l’edat mitjana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caterina Albert</span> Catalan writer

Caterina Albert i Paradís, better known by her pen name Víctor Català, was a Catalan writer in Catalan and Spanish who participated in the Modernisme movement and was the author of one of the signature works of the genre, Solitud (Solitude) (1905). Her literary skill was first recognized in 1898, when she received the Jocs Florals prize; soon thereafter, she began using the pseudonym Victor Català, taking it from the protagonist of a novel she never finished. Despite her success as a dramatist and her forays into poetry, she is best known for her work in narrative literature, with the force of her style and the richness of her diction being especially noted. She died in her hometown of l’Escala, Catalonia, in 1966 and is interred in the Cementiri Vell de l’Escala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buenaventura Carlos Aribau</span> Catalan writer, politician and economist (1798–1862)

Bonaventura Carles Aribau i Farriols (1798–1862) was a Catalan economist, stenographer, writer and politician who wrote in Spanish, Catalan, Latin, and Italian.

Antoni Vila Arrufat (1894–1989) was a Spanish engraver from Sabadell in Catalonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xavier Miserachs</span> Spanish photographer

Xavier Miserachs i Ribalta was a Spanish photographer. He studied medicine at the University of Barcelona, but left school to be a photographer. He exhibited his work in Barcelona from 1956. His work is reminiscent of neorealism and is representative of the years of Spanish economic recovery, 1950–1960. His photographs show him as a creator of a new image of the city and its people. In 1998 he received the Creu de Sant Jordi of the Catalan government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barcelona Royal Shipyard</span> Historic building in Catalonia, Spain

The Barcelona Royal Shipyard is a shipyard and former military building of Gothic architecture placed at the Port Vell area of the Port of Barcelona. Today it houses the Barcelona Maritime Museum. Construction started during the 13th century under the rule of Peter III of Aragon. During excavations in 2012 it was discovered that in the late 16th century a new building was constructed on top of the old medieval dockyard, giving the building its current structure. These excavations also uncovered a Roman graveyard. The shipyard's restoration was finished in early 2013. The museum was reopened in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andreu Mayayo i Artal</span> Spanish professor

Andreu Mayayo i Artal is a professor of Modern History and vice-dean of the Faculty of Geography and History at the University of Barcelona. He is the editor-in-chief of the Segle XX. Revista Catalana d'Història journal, member of the editorial boards of the Catalan journals L'Avenç, Sàpiens and El Contemporani. He is also a member of the Board of the Democratic Memorial of the Government of Catalonia and a regular contributor to media debates at RAC 1, Debat de La 1 of Televisión Española, RNE Ràdio 4, Catalunya Ràdio and Barcelona TV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Aurèlia Capmany</span> Spanish novelist, playwright and essayist (1918–1991)

Maria Aurelia Capmany i Farnés was a Catalan novelist, playwright and essayist. She was also a prominent feminist cultural and anti-Franco activist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rossend Nobas</span> Spanish sculptor and goldsmith

Rossend Nobas i Ballbé was a Catalan sculptor and goldsmith in the 19th century. Working mainly in Barcelona, Nobas's work is to be found around the city in both museums and public areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Lluïsa Borràs i Gonzàlez</span>

Maria Lluïsa Borràs i González, doctorate in Art History from the Universitat de Barcelona, was a Spanish writer, critic, exhibition curator and specialist in the avant-garde and Dadaism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catalan Republic (1931)</span>

The Catalan Republic was a state proclaimed in 1931 by Francesc Macià as the "Catalan Republic within the Iberian Federation", in the context of the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic. It was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, and superseded three days later, on 17 April, by the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Catalan institution of self-government within the Spanish Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francesc Fontbona</span> Spanish art historian, writer and exhibition curator

Francesc Fontbona de Vallescar is a Catalan art historian, writer, exhibition curator and specialist in Romanticism, Catalan Modernism and Noucentisme Arts. Fontbona is the author of many works of Catalan art history. Doctorate in Early modern period from the Universitat de Barcelona in 1987. He was director of Graphic section in National Library of Catalonia (1995-2013), and Chief executive-writer of art section in the Great Catalan Encyclopedia (1968–78). Francesc Fontbona is member of the Royal Catalan Academy of Fine Arts of Saint George, member of The Hispanic Society of America, member of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans and Board chair of the Institut Amatller d'Art Hispànic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catalan art</span> Art in Catalonia

The Catalan art is the artistic production made in what is now Catalonia along the time. It has a parallel evolution to the rest of European art, following in a diverse way the multiple tendencies that have taken place in the context of the history of Western art. Throughout history, Catalonia has seen diverse cultures and civilizations that contributed their concept of art and have left their legacy. Each historical period has specific and definable characteristics, common to other lands and cultures, or unique and differentiated, which evolved over time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exploradores Barceloneses</span> Barcelonan Scout association (1911–1940)

The Exploradores Barceloneses was the first scouting initiative in Spain, the local version of Robert Baden-Powell's Boy Scouts founded in 1911 by cavalry captain Pedro Roselló Axet. It was a pro-Spanish institution that was also in favor of decentralization. This initiative was successful thanks to the collaboration of teachers from various private schools.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.