Barça on Foot

2-Nov-23

On another cold & drizzly day, we caught a bus tour to the jagged peaks of Montserrat about an hour north of Barcelona. The rain held out just long enough for us to take a short horseback ride through the area but started up again when we went to visit the monastery. 

The Monastery Santa Maria de Montserrat was established in 1025 to house a statue of the Madonna & Child (carved in Jerusalem, as legend would have it). The statue is referred to as La Moreneta or 'the Black Virgin' because the skin of the Madonna & baby Jesus is black, most likely from years of exposure to candle smoke or the aging varnish. 

La Moreneta high up in the alter

People wait in lines to touch the Madonna for blessings

The monastery, like many historic buildings in Spain was damaged during the French occupation but was restored between the 19th-20th centuries & looks practically brand new.

The rain cleared up just in time for us to head back down the mountain under a massive rainbow arching across the valley 🌈

The rest of the afternoon was spent pounding the pavement, listening to our 'old friend' Rick Steves as he guided us via audio tour down La Rambla around the sites of Barri Gòtic.

Plaza Cataluña & 'pigeons from hell'

Monument Catalunya a Francesc Masià (Masià was the first president of the Government of the autonomous region of Catalonia in 1931). The unfinished staircase represents the unfinished/continuing history of Catalunya.

La Rambla - pedestrian boulevard that follows the path of a medieval sewage drain to the Mediterranean that was cleaned up (i.e., diverted outside the city walls) & became a paved street in the 15th century.

Modernist restaurant built in 1897 to mimic Parisian bistros - favorite haunt of both Picasso & Gaudi in its heyday.

Friezes by Picasso on the Architects’ College of Catalonia

Remains of Roman Aqueduct, 1st century BCE

Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, built in the Gothic style between the 13th-15th centuries, the façade in the 1890s.

Baptismal font used to baptize six indigenous Americans brought to Spain by Columbus

Choir stalls - meeting place of the Order of the Golden Fleece since 1519 - each seat is decorated with the coat of arms of its Barcelona Chapter member 

Saint Eulalia's tomb under the main altar

Saint Eulalia's "X" symbol outside the Cathedral

Cloister with 13 resident geese to represent Saint Eulalia's tortures

The 'hideous' Neogothic Pont Del Bisbe 

Casa de la Ciutat (City Hall) built on the site of the Roman Forum. The façade is Neogothic but the first city hall was built here in 1373.

Four remaining columns of the Roman Temple of Augustus (c. 1st century CE), probably demolished after the 4th century CE. Ruins were not uncovered until the 19th century.