Barcelona
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Barcelona is a place to relax and enjoy the beautiful weather and surrounding countryside offered by the wonderful country of Spain. A train connection from L’Ametlla de Mar will take you on scenic coastal journey into Barcelona. What better way to get away from it all than to make Villa Jacaranda your home from home.
Barcelona is a northern city of the South - that is to say, it is progressive, industrial, middle-class and European, while at the same time being traditionalist, popular, typically Mediterranean and having a pleasant climate. This dichotomy between tradition and progress is a characteristic of both the city and it's nearly two million inhabitants.Barcelona stands on a plain that slopes gently down from the Sierra de Collserola (with it highest mountain, Mount Tibidabo, at 512m) to the sea. The City's civic and political centre is situated in the square known as Plaça de Sant Jaume, where the palaces of the Generalitat and the Town Hall stand. The management of the city is under the control of this latter, all-powerful institution.
The other palace, ie. of the Generalitat, is the seat
of the government of the Catalan Autonomous Community. At present, Catalonia has
about 6 million inhabitants. It started life as a ´march´ at the time of
Charlemagne (9C), when this area came out of its long prehistoric past of
Iberian tribes, colonisation by the Phoenicians and Greek, Roman domination, the
invasion of the Goths, and finally the Arabs, who were the reason why the Franks
decided to set up a border-defence area. As a result, a new country was born on
both sides of the eastern sector of the Pyrenees. With the passing of time, and
thanks to Barcelona, this country, composed of different counties, became first
independent and then, following the union of Catalonia and Aragon, became a
kingdom with Barcelona as its capital. Towards the end of the 15C, Catalonia and
Aragon joined up with the kingdom of Castile and, at the beginning of the 18C,
were absorbed under the Spain of the bourbons, thus losing their independence.
It was at this time when Barcelona, thanks to its commercial and manufacturing
drive, became the most modern city in the country. Its independent past and
modernity were to determine, from that moment on
wards, the ambiguous character
of this Mediterranean city.
Barcelona contains monuments and remains from all the
different stages in its history, and therefore is a very old city with a rich
and varied past. All this comes to light in many ways. For example, in its
traditionalism. This is expressed in religion - Christian in character but with
strong pagan overtones; in society, with very deep-rooted direct relationships,
great importance given to the family and with some imaginative and clever
individuals; in the economy, with small and efficient companies; in popular
festivities that are maintained with both naturalness and fervour; in the
Catalan language, which has still been conserved despite constant pressure from
the Spanis
h language; and in the gastronomy, as well as other areas of popular
or minority culture. Nevertheless, Barcelona has almost always held its modern
image, mainly because it has kept its traditions. This could be seen in the
Middle Ages with French-Style feudalism in Catalonia and a very strong feeling
of a free city in Barcelona; in the early dedication to commerce and the
manufacture of textiles in the 14C; in the industrialisation at the beginning of
the 19C; in the great movement dedicated to cultural and political recovery in
the latter part of the last century (the so-called Renaixença), which was then
followed by the equally important and powerful "modernisme" or
Modernism period in Catalonia, along with several other ultra-modern movements
in the 20C. The writer Vargas Llosa said that there was no other city in the
world as "snobbish" as Barcelona, except for Milan. The search for and
capture of what is "new" is characteristic of one sector of the
population and slowly spreads to the rest. It is no wonder, therefore, that some
people have spoken of "schizophrenia" caused by the dichotomy between
what is traditional and what is new. At the moment, Barcelona is a "closed" city.
That is, it cannot and does not want to grow any more, and so, as result, its
streets and buildings are now undergoing a restoration period, and it is trying
to improve its services and living conditions in an attempt to substitute
quantity for quality. Its newly restored squares are already drawing the
attention of the rest of the world, and during the summer months there are all
kinds of sporting, commercial and cultural event being held in ever-increasing
numbers where previously there was nothing.
Barcelona can really boast about its wide variety of parks, ranging from the largest to the smallest, both private and public. The parks and gardens in Barcelona include many that were the former private gardens and parklands of the city's nobility and whether it is just a small square with surrounding trees or a larger open space, they are all peaceful places to relax.
Las Ramblas will likely be your first stop in Barcelona, and rightly so. This area is a must-see. Even though it’s packed with tourists, it’s an exciting, lively neighborhood perfect for ambling around, shopping, and eating. You can take a pleasant stroll, enjoy some great people-watching and admire the beautiful medieval architecture of the Barri Gotic all around you.
