Cultural Walk in Barcelona: IX Trobada de coordinadores autonòmiques d’ONGD (Nov 26th)

In the framework of the ‘IX Trobada de coordinadores autonòmiques d’ONGD’, I was invited to organize a cultural walk in Barcelona for the ‘FCONGD’ (Catalan Federation for Development NGOs). The participants came from different parts of Spain, and the idea was to introduce them to some historic and cultural elements of the city. Starting in El Raval, we strolled through El Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter) and off to El Born.

The highlights of the itinerary included:
– Plaza Sant Jaume, home to the Generalitat (Catalan Parliament) and the Ajuntament (City Hall) and once the ‘forum’ of Barcino (the Roman nucleus of present-day Barcelona);
– Plaza Reial, the only portico-lined square in the city and home to Gaudí’s earliest public works (his famous lampposts);
– Fossar de les Moreres, where an eternal flame glows high up the memorial for the fallen Catalans that defended their city during the French siege, before it finally fell in 1714.

For more on FCONGD:
http://fcongd.org/fcongd/

Cultural Walk in Barcelona: Barcelona’s Art & Culture (Nov 6th)

Today is the Cultural Walk that I organize for my 2011/2012 Master’s students in Barcelona. From Passeig de Gracia, we go all the way to El Born, explaining all about the cultural phenomena of the city.

During the walk, we talked about the following figures, all of whom spent in Barcelona all or part of their lives:
Architects: Antoni Gaudí – Puig i Cadafalch – Domènech i Montaner – Josep Vilaseca – Frank Gehry
Painters: Pablo Picasso – Salvador Dalí – Joan Miró – Ramon Casas – Santiago Rusiñol
Artists: Roy Lichtenstein – HA Schult – Ocaña – Pere Romeu – Josep Maria Subirachs – Josep Clarà – Josep Maria Jujol
Musicians: Isaac Albéniz – Enrique Granados – Pau Casals
Writers: Jacint Verdaguer – Rubén Darío – George Orwell – Ernest Hemingway

The key monuments, sites and artworks that we visited are:
Casa Batlló (Antoni Gaudí),
Casa Ametller (Puig i Cadafalch),
Casa Lleó Morera (Domènech i Muntaner),
La Diosa (Josep Clarà),
Monument to Francesc Macià (joseph Subirachs),
Casa Martí (Puig i Cadafalch),
Els Quatre Gats (Pere Romeu),
Palau Moja,
Casa Escribà,
Circular Mosaic (Joan Miró),
House of the Umbrellas (Joseph Vilaseca),
El Liceu,
Café de l’Òpera,
Lampposts of Plaça Reial (Antoni Gaudí),
El Cap de Barcelona (Roy Lichtenstein).