celona from Park Guell in the far reaches of the mountain, La Sagrada Familia and La Pedrera in the center of the city and the Gaudi museum by the ocean front. His fae-like creations are like none else and characterize Gaudi as much as they characterize the city.Like many artists, Gaudi was not accepted in his own time by the general populace. His inspired buildings belong in neither the modernist nor the gothic realm
of architecture. They are unique creations onto themselves.Indeed, Gaudi himself was a unique individual - as is evidenced by his unconventional architecture. On the sides of the unfinished Sagrada Familia, perfectly sculpted snails slide along the turrets, taking the place of the traditional gothic gargoyles. Many say that Gaudi opted for snails instead of grander decorations because he thought they were a humble creature and, to Gaudi, humility was the greatest of virtues. How odd that an architect of such magnitude could adopt such a virtue in a fie
ld filled with artistic hubris.Gaudi is not only reflected in the architecture of Barcelona, but in the culture of the city as well. Though Barcelona is in Spain, it is different from the rest of the territory because of its placement in the region of Catalonia. Although Spanish is one of their official languages, nearly all of Barcelona's citizens speak in Catalan - a language quite different from Spanish, though it is also derived from Latin. In fact, most of Barcelona's citizens refus
e to speak in Spanish and would prefer that you address them in English should you not understand Catalan.Barcelona does not wallow in their differences but rather embraces a pride that varies greatly from Gaudi's humility. (A pride that is perhaps warranted as they bring in approximately 25 percent of Spain's GDP thanks to their seafood revenue.) In this way, Barcelona is like Gaudi in their misfit status, but different in the perception of their own genius.
