Barcelona has retained its original core as it has expanded. The city has three distinct architectural styles to see.
Medieval
The city was a major power in the confederation of Catalonia-Aragon and was
a maritime power in the Mediterranean. The Barri Gotic dates from this period,
being full of the institutional buildings that were developed at that time -
Palau de la Generalitat with the church of Sant Jordi, L’Ajuntament and
Saló de cent, the Royal Palaces (Palau Reial Major, residence of the
Counts Of Barcelona). The there is of course the Cathedral ( started at the
end of the XIII century), The Church Santa Maria del Mar (dating from the XIV
century) and many commercial buildings (Reials Drassanes – the largest
Medieval shipyards of the world).
Renaissance
The industrial revolution caused a great boom in the population, and the city
spread beyond its original city walls. In 1860, Idelfons Cerda designed the
extension to the city, L’Eixample, based on the square block system of
streets. And the flow of traffic is aided by the large avenue (Gran Via) and
two diagonal avenues that dominate the system.
Modernism
The exlargement was quickly followed my the Modernista or Modernist builings,
for which perhpas Barcelona is best known today. Three buildings from the 1880’s
to mark the beginnings of Modernism : The publishing house of Montaner i Simon(1880),
Josep Vilaseca’s factory for F. Vidal (1884) and
Gaudi’s Casa Vicens (1883- 5). The Modernist architects used differnt
inspirations for their buildings, ranging from Romanesque to modern styles from
in Germany or France. They all tend to be based on the use of natural forms:
flowers and plants, plus decorative forms of ironwork, ceramics and stained
glass. The aim was to create a new modern Catalan style of architecture.
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