Bon Nadal!

Dear students,

Now that Christmas is around the corner, I would like to wish you all a

Bon Nadal i feliç 2010!

Here's a wee present that I hope will make you laugh: it's a video from Stephen Fry's QI programme, which featured a rather funny aspect of Catalan culture. Watch it by clicking here.

And here's the Christmas game: what word is Stephen Fry not pronouncing correctly? ;)

Que tingueu unes vacances fabuloses, i que torneu amb moltes forces per al segon semestre!

Laia

El Cor de la Ciutat

I remember Laia touching upon Catalan soap operas one lesson, and I thought, seeing as it is such a big part of British culture, with Coronation Street and Emmerdale and all of that [rubbish] ;] i would take a look at the influence soap operas have on Catalan society.

Now, I'm not really a fan of soap operas in the UK, there are plenty of other things that I would rather watch, but it's something different to look at I suppose, and if I'm correct, Laia did mention they were a bit odd!

Oh, and I apologise for the excessive amount of cutting&pasting!

• El cor de la ciutat is a Catalan television soap opera first broadcast on TV3 on 11th September, 2000 and continues to date.
• The show is the most watched fiction program in Catalonia, especially among female audiences, drawing around 28-33% of the audience with as much as 40% during season finales. The show receives almost 800,000 viewers and near season endings some episodes have had over one million viewers.
• El cor de la ciutat follows the lives of the people who live and work in the neighbourhood of Sants and Sant Andreu in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It's full of the usual 'storylines' that British soaps tackle - romance, affairs, gay relationships, personal struggles, family fall outs and all the rest.
• Eight complete seasons have been broadcast up until July 2008, with Season 9 currently airing.Five episodes are broadcast each week, one on each weekday, on TV3. Nearly 1,800 episodes of the programme have been produced, making El cor de la Ciutat the longest-running television series TVC has produced.
• At the end of each season, a special night of programming is dedicated to the soap opera, known as La Nit del Cor (The Night of the Heart)

La Nit del Cor (The Night of The Heart) is an evening of programming and live content associated with the show. The special evening of programming takes place on the Sunday evening following the broadcast of the final episode of a season of the soap opera. The evening begins with an hour-long special episode of the soap opera which wraps up many of the storylines whilst also creating a cliffhanger ending which will be returned to during the next series.
After the hour-long special, a special evening is held at the National Theatre of Catalonia (TNC), Barcelona, which is attended by all of the cast from the series, including a few that will join the series during the next season as new characters Prizes are also awarded to actors, actresses and scriptwriters throughout the evening.

Official website - http://www.tv3.cat/pprogrames/elcordelaciutat/corSeccio.jsp

Is it just me, or are some of the characters all slightly odd looking!?

It's strange to see that the Catalan soap opera is not a continuous story in the way that it is on British television. Yes, the story may continue from one season to the other, but it is not very often that British soap operas take such a long break, sometimes they are even priority, with two or three episodes in one night! I wonder if anyone could tell me how long this break is between seasons? I had a look but found it hard to find any answers!

La Nit del Cor seems similar to the British Soap Awards, with awards dished out left, right and centre!

That's about all from el Cor de la Ciutat, I found it difficult to find any other soaps on Catalan television, I imagine there are many regional ones, but these all fade into obscurity when compared to this very popular programme!

Christina x.

correfoc

Correfoc is one of the most extreme of the Catalan festivals. It involves 'trained professionals' dressing up as dimonis (demons) and setting off a series of spectacular fireworks whilst the crowd runs away/stands in the way and dances.

It translates literally as run away from fire. So you get the idea :) Correfoc is a joyous celebration. Few festivals can top the pure excitement and adrenaline rush that you get from loud explotions coupled with dancing a jig. (What is it with the Iberians and incredible danger?)

It's an odd celebration in so far as each town seems to celebrate it at a different time. The ins and outs however, roughly speaking, remain the same throughout Catalonia.

It is celebrated in the street. Most shops board up their windows to stop fire damage. Usually there is a percussion band hammering out the classic latin rhythms and basically you dance drink and avoid the demon with the firework strapped to a stick (they are similar to a Catherine wheel mounted horizontally, and the sticks are quite long so they are above your head) The whole town turns out women and children alike. The demons tour the centre of the town and the celebration ends in the town square. A huge Firework display often finishes off the occasion and the whole thing is very spectacular indeed.

They sure do win the award for most interesting celebrations, correfoc puts English Morris dancing to shame. We should have a Catalan version were the morrismen have rockets strapped to their feet :D

This is a correfoc that I went to in La Bisbal, it's not the biggest but it was still very scary ah tell thee!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB6ca80Aqtc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcA0-KIhoN8

Enjoy!
John

Hey
As I haven't wrote anything on here for a while...i thought i would do a short entry of MUSIC- i've probably done this before, but i really like music- thats the only reason!

Barcelona has many venues for live music of all genres. But I thought i would research two music festivals that take place in the city each year, Sonar Festival and Primavera Sound Festival.

Sonar runs for 3 days- normally in june. It is described as a festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art, mostly including the broadest genre of music- electronica. There have been international and also Spanish artists that have played this festival, including, Bjork, The Chemical Brothers and Pet Shop Boys, etc.
http://2010.sonar.es/es/

Primavera Sound Fesival
It normally takes place during May and June, at the Parc del Forum site in Barcelona. It is like Sonar Festival, having international and local artists playing, e.g from last years line up- Jarvis Cocker and Bloc Party.

These festivals seem to be the Leeds fest for Barcelona!!!
I think I will have to go at some point, and experience a festival that isn't muddy!! :)
Sian xx

El Nadal

I thought I’d carry on the theme of Christmas...especially now it’s only 21 days away!!

I’ve been looking at how Christmas is celebrated in Catalunya and the differences compared to how we celebrate. The Catalan Christmas lasts a lot longert han our Christmas.

December 25th and 31st are not the only important days; the festivities are spread out over a number of days that all have considerable importance. Family parties start on the 24th, la nit de Nadal, especially in religious households where the celebration of the midnight missa delgall (mass of the rooster) is followed by cavaand ressopó, a sweet night-time snack of hot chocolate and torró (Spanish nougat).
The 25th is celebrated with a huge lunchtime feast involving the whole family. It is normally a three course meal Starting with canopés, king prawns and little tapas dishes before escudella is served.

This three-part dish consists of a broth with huge pasta shells, a plate of meat (carn d’olla) including botifarra sausage and a pilota (giant meatball), and a variety of vegetables including potatoes, cabbage and chickpeas. Then there is roasted poultry such ascapon, turkey or chicken. Dessert is normally torrón (sweet slabs of nougat that come in lots of different flavours) and neules (tube-shaped biscuits).

The same type of things happen on the 26th, Sant Esteban (Saint Steven’s day), but on a smaller scale.
The 28th, dia dels Sants Innocents (Innocent Saints’ day), is not a formal occasion but is a day when people play jokes on one other, similar to our April fool’s Day.
Then, on New Year’s Eve, la nitde Cap d’Any, the main event comes with the 12 strokes of the clock at midnight that welcome in the New Year; everyone tries to eat a grape in time with every bell chime for good luck. January1st, Cap d’Any (head of the year), involves another family dinner before the final celebration on the 6th, Reis (Kings’ Day or Epiphany), this is when children receive presents.
Children are traditionally left presents by the Three Wise Men, the Reis Mags d’Orient, and they write their Christmas lists to the Kings, not to Father Christmas.
In catalunya Christmas cards are not really a traditional part of Christmas and their January sales don’t start on Boxing Day...they have to wait until January 7th after The Kings’ Day.

Steph

http://www.genevieveshaw.com/Resident%20Magazine%202007.pdf

El Nadal - segon parte

Ok, the second of my Christmassy posts is about another Catalan Christmas tradition which is a little less potentially profane yet still related to poo. I spent a good portion of my time in Barcelona desperately asking people 'why the obsession with it?!', and I never really got an answer but I think it's interesting nonetheless.

As well as a 'caganer' for the crib, Catalans also have a 'cagatió' in their home at Christmas. They come in varying sizes and are made from a log or stick with legs, a very happy face and a traditional Catalan hat. This bit isn't so odd. Until you find out that 'cagatió' means 'pooing log'. The log is hollowed out and over advent the log is fed various treats/small gifts (nuts, fruits, sweets, turrón etc.) and on Christmas Eve or Day the log is hit so that he poops out the treats whilst shouting 'cagatió!' (a command to 'poo log!') and songs are sung. The Catalan word 'tió' (log) is not related to the Castilian for uncle (though hitting a log and shouting 'poo uncle, poo uncle!' would be equally amusing I think.) I saw a massive version of the cagatió with chidren queuing up to hit him in the same way we would go to a Santa's grotto and it really was quite bizarre!




I also brought some mini ones back for friends and they were just totally baffled as to why I had brought them a little log that traditionally poos things, and also as to why this had anything to do with Christmas. Here is an example of a cagatio song,

Caga tió,
caga torró,
avellanes i mató,
si no cagues bé
et daré un cop de bastó.
caga tió!

Which translates as,

Poop log,
poop turrón,
hazelnuts and cottage cheese,
If you don't poop well,
I'll hit you with a stick.
Poo log!



The tradition also extends to Aragon where it is called 'tizón de Nadal' and Occitania where it is called 'cachafuòc', although it is less faeces orientated here! A log comes in and distributes presents to people and the oldest and youngest people in the room say the following rhyme:

Bota fuòc, cachafuòc - Light Up, Yule Log

(Occitan)
Bota fuòc, cachafuòc,
que nos alegre,
que nos fague la jòia d'èstre aquí l'an que ven,
e se sèm pas mai,
que siaguem pas mens!

(English)
Light up, Yule log,
Delight us,
Give us the joy to be here next year,
And if we aren't more numerous,
Let us not be less!

I think it's interesting how logs have become a part of Christmas traditions the world over, even if not in this context: we have a yule log cake, as does France and Spain. I imagine its origins are something to do with a log traditionally being a good thing to be given as a gift because of it's use as a heat source, but I love how nobody else has used their logs like the Catalans!

El Nadal - primera part

Ok, I haven't done a blog for AGGGEEESS so I'm (hopefully) going to make up for it now by doing a few in one go. I'm going to do them about Catalan Christmas because I find it fascinating and hilarious at the same time (Chris, it should appeal to your apparently childish sense of humour).

A lot of Catalan Christmas traditions are centred around...poo. The most popular manifestation of this being the 'caganer' (it translates as pooper). This is a small figurine of a boy dressed in traditional Catalan costume and hat ('barretina'), "in the act of defacation".



I was in Barcelona this time last year and caganers are sold everywhere, particularly at a big Christmas market outside Catedral de Santa Eulalia and they leave nothing to the imagination in terms of the defamating act! Caganers are placed in the corner of cribs and nativity scenes (el pessebre) far away from the trinity and other traditional figures. Some say the reason for this is that it is a fun game to find the caganer hidden in the nativity scene (however in the case of the one I took home for my mum, it's so that nobody can see that there's somebody defecating in her nativity scene). As well as the traditionally dressed ones, caganers are also made to look like famous or political figures and it's possible to find a caganer of literally anybody (the Spanish royal family, the Pope, Barack Obama, the entire FC Barca team, Don Quijote, Dalí, smurfs, a tower of castellers...the list goes on.) Check out this website to have a look at some of the famous people ones http://www.caganer.com/novedades-2009-c-57.html, or here's one of Gordon Brown...



At first I was quite shocked that it was seen as acceptable to make caganers of members of the royal family and respected figures but I actually think it's quite nice and shows a difference in Catalan and British attitudes to political correctness and when it's appropriate and when it's not. I also think it shows how strong the tradition is behind caganers, as although it is clearly a humorous custom and viewed as such, it is very traditional and is not meant in anyway to be offensive or derogatory. The extent to which this is viewed as an integral part of Catalan culture was demonstrated in 2005 when a nativity scene was erected in Barcelona which did not contain a caganer and there was public outcry and claims that it was an attack on Catalan customs. Barcelona council stated that it was due to the fact that a law had been passed that year which made urinating and defecating publicly illegal but the caganer returned in 2006 after a campaign 'Salvem el Caganer' was launched.

The origins of the caganer are relatively unknown and there are various reasons given for its being. The most popular is that he will fertilise the earth and bring a good harvest for the coming year, and buying a caganer is said to bring good luck. Another is that it promotes the equality of all people as a peasant in the midst of a very primitive act is included next to the holy family in the nativity scene. Going along with this theme, another reason is that the caganer provides a sense of naturalism to the nativity scene, originating from the time when they could only be afforded by the upper classes who decorated them in an opulent and over the top fashion. Personally, I quite like this explanation the best: the idea that the caganer is a representation of the common man as I think it best relates the tradition back to the meaning of Christmas.

I think a lot of Brits would be shocked to know that there are figurines of our most famous public figures in the middle of their daily act, and at first I thought caganers were really odd but now I LOVE them! I think it's not only funny, but sentimental as well and says a lot about Catalans which I like.

The Balearic Islands- Early History

Okay I have been completely USELESS and haven’t done a blog in a while now, so I’m hoping to catch up by doing a little series on the Balearics because it’s a catalan speaking region that I know little about and thought would be interesting to look at! Going to do a few blogs on it so that it’s not all in one go and I apologise Laia if I get anything wrong!
First off I’m going to have a little look at the ancient history of the Balearic Islands, which I found both quite interesting and quite funny (probably because it appeals to my rather immature sense of humour!). The earliest recorded writings about the Balearics and the people that lived there come from the Greeks (Who called the islands Gymnasiae) and the Romans (who called the islands Baleares) and both names have different legends behind their origins.
The name Gymnasiae derives from the greek word gymnos which means “Naked” and this came from the legend that the people leaving on the islands would spend the summer months naked due to the warm climate in which they lived (Can you see why I laughed a little? Especially since the same greek word is the origin for our word “Gymnasium”- by rights we should all work out in the nude! =P).
The name Baleares has a less funny but still interesting origin- it comes from the Latin for “to launch” and this refers to the islanders’ famous skills as slingers. They were trained from a young age (mothers wouldn’t allow their sons to eat until they had knocked their bread off a post with a sling!) wore three slings of differing lengths and sizes that allowed them to hurl different sized stones at the enemy and they were famed for seldom missing their target. They were so good that they were used by Roman, Carthaginian and Greek generals, and some historians have suggested that the Greek name Gymnasiae actually refers to the fact that the islanders wore little armour into battle in comparison to their heavily armoured hoplites (although I still think the first legend is better!).
Not a lot else is known of the earliest inhabitants of the island except that they had little interest in precious metals, preferring wine and women as payment for the military services, and they were invaded and controlled by both the Carthaginians and the Romans at different points in their history. Under these empires the islands flourished: they were incredibly fertile for any kind of produce escept wine or olive oil; they were famed for their cattle, mules and huge numbers of rabbits; they produced a breed of snails that the Romans considered a delicacy (grown in caves for some reason!); and they produced a mineral called “Sinope” which was used by painters as a rich red.
So that’s a quick look at the early history of the islands and next time I’ll have a look at a bit later in their history! Enjoy!
Chris

Afternoon! As i need to catch up loads here's my next blog already, decided to do it on another holiday destination because that's what i know best. This time i'm going to write about the town of Pollença and it's nearby port, port de Pollença, which is in the north-east of Mallorca.
The old town of Pollença is located a few miles away from the coast and is a 13th century town home to around 15,000 people. The main landmark and tourist spot of the town is the massive 365 step stairway which leads to a chappel and small cafe at the top as well as excellent views of the mallorcan landscape. Every easter the stairs and main sqaure are the location of the mock crucifixion of Jesus, in which somebody carries a huge wooden cross up the hill and then is crucifed, followed by an erie procession through the town centre. ALthough i was there around Easter time, I did not get to see this event. At the bottom of the stairs is the main square, La Plaça Major, which has many small cafes and bars around it. There is also a medievil church called the Esglèsia de Nostra Senyora dels Àngels and a small market area, selling mainly fresh fruit and veg outside and meat, fish and cheese inside.
The port, Port de Pollença, located on the coast in the more modernised tourist area, with sea-side cafes, bars, restaruants and big apartment blocks. There is a trail called the Pine Walk which runs along the coast, which is said to be worth a vist, given its name due to the numerous pine trees which grow beside it, dropping their needles onto the sandy path.
The port neighbours the great Cap de Formentor, a mountain peninsular which you can drive over to the other side.

That's about it

Cheers, Fred.

Markets.
After talking about food and markets in class on Monday, I decided to research a bit into the different markets in Catalonia. The market that caught my eye was the ‘Mercat de la Boqueria’. There is so much recorded about this market that I thought I should look into it.
The Mercat de la Boqueria is one of Barcelona’s 40 markets, yet this is the biggest and most well-known. It spreads along ‘La Rambla’ from the ‘Plaza Catalunya’ to the port. It is open from 8am to 8pm every day except Sunday and is full of every food imaginable; typical Catalonian fruit and vegetables, seafood, meat, cheese and a variety of sweets and desserts. Cured meats are also very popular as well as regional sausages.
This market also specialises in ‘rovellons’ a type of mushroom, particular to Catalonia in the autumn. They are orange coloured and are called ‘rovellons’ because the word ‘rovell’ means the ‘inner part of an egg’. The price varies but the larger ones are usually cheaper than the smaller ones, as it’s more likely for worms to be harbouring in them!
Amidst all the market stalls there are also bars tapas restaurants and bakeries where you’re able to stop off and have a drink and something to eat if the market gets too much.
The Boqueria Market is a lot older than people think. The first mention of it dates back to 1217 and from December 1470, pig farmers started to sell their pigs there. At this time, the market had the name ‘Mercat de la Palla’ (Straw Market) and it was not enclosed like it is today. In 1826 the market was legally recognized and a convention was held in 1835 to decide the construction of an official place. In 1853, the official launch was made and in 1911, the new fish market was opened. In 1914, the metal roof that still exists today was constructed.
I think that visiting local markets is an excellent way of getting to know a new place, understanding a culture, seeing the different tastes of people, how much things cost and how people deal with one another.
Here's a link to a video which shows the typical hustle and bustle of the market.


http://www.boqueria.info/Eng/index.php

Chiara

"INIESTA...INIESTA...INIESTA..."

...the crowd sung as the diminutive midfielder salutes the loving fans after his wonder goal against Chelsea in the Champions league semi final last year. The audacious finish epitomised the quality that the football wizard possesses, the Albus Dumbledore of football as to say. Despite this, he stays low key in terms of media attention contrasting to the other high calibre players that revel in the media limelight, lapping up the attention as a dog would when visitors are round. Let’s just say Andres Iniesta is no ordinary footballer.

Andrés Iniesta Luján is a Spanish international midfielder, playing his domestic football at footballing giants FC Barcelona. His willingness to play anywhere on the pitch, coupled with a natural humility, has earned him the sobriquet El Ilusionista, El Anti-Galáctico and most recently San Andrés. All these titles have been hard earnt over a period of many years at the club that he holds so close to his heart. It was after Iniesta’s impressive performance in the Champions League Final that caused Manchester United striker, Wayne Rooney, to claim that he was the best midfielder in the world. But where did Iniesta start??

Iniesta was aged 12 when he joined the youth ranks at Barcelona, playing alongside Arsenal, and fellow Spain international Cesc Fabregas. He began his career as a defensive midfielder, but as he progressed, his attacking flair caused him to upgrade to the more lucrative attacking midfield role. Nevertheless it was only 2006 when Iniesta started to get played regularly in the Barcelona team due to the absence of Xavi, through injury. Since then, he hasn’t looked back and has formed the ultimate partnership with whom else but, Xavi, in the central midfield. He has been one of the most consistent performers in the last few years, proven by the stats and is now starting to break into the top 10 players in the world shortlist, coming in at 9 last year. In the Euros 2008, he helped Spain progress to the final, winning a man of the match performance in the semi final. He consequently was chosen in the tournament team 11 which highlighted his contribution to his national side throughout the tournament.

Nevertheless, Iniesta doesn’t let the media attention get to his head and in my opinion; he is the most unsung hero in the game. So here it is, A BIG SHOUT OUT TO ANDRES INIESTA, arguably the best footballer in the world.

Figueres

Hi, this is my first blog, hope you enjoy it. I've chosen to do it on the city of Figueres, the birthplace of Salividor Dalí. It's in the province of Girona in north-east Catalonia, the city is bordered very closely to France.
Whilst on holiday a few years ago in Palámos, we went to Figueres for the day to go to the Dalí museum and to see the Castell de Sant Ferran, a huge fortress, the biggest in Catalonia and one of the largest in Europe, measuring at 55.08 hectares, used as a defence mechanism against the French during the 18th and 19th centuries. However now it is open to the public after an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Defence, the Catalonian autonomous government and the Figueres town council. Here is a link to an aerial video which shows the fortress: http://www.castillosanfernando.org/ENG/castillo.php

We visited the Dalí museum too, el teatre-museu Dalí, the museum holds many of his famous works including the Mae West room and a range of his paintings and sculptures. There is also a central courtyard with other works such as the Cadillac plujós, a Cadillac with people trapped inside, which has been fitted with a system which makes it rain every now and again. Dalí is buried in a crypt in the museum which can be seen.

Els Pets

Hi, as i haven't posted in a while (oops!) i thought i would add to some of the posts on music with a little bit of info on a catalan band ive found.

Els Pets is a catalan pop-rock band that formed in Tarragona in 1985, and belongs to the musical movement of the 80s and 90s "Rock Catala". I found some of their music on Youtube and i think they're really good and a lot of their music is quite political. For example, "Tarragona M'esborrona" which is one of their most famous songs.

http://elspets.cat/

Emma x

Catalan Universities

There are 12 Universities in Catalonia;

• Universitat de Barcelona (Barcelona)
  The UB was officially founded under the royal prerogative granted by Alphonse the Magnanimous, in Naples, on 3 November 1450 (559 years ago!). Its website has loads of information about the university, its history and life in Barcelona. This page might be especially useful when considering the year abroad :).
  
• Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Barcelona)
  The UAB was founded in 1968 with the aim of establishing four principles of autonomy: freedom to select teaching staff, admission available to all students (but with a limited number), freedom to create its own study plans and freedom to administrate the university's capital. Again, the university's website has information about studying there as part of the Erasmus scheme.
  
• Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Barcelona, Castelldefels, Manresa, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Terrassa and Vilanova i la Geltrú)
  The UPC was founded in 1971 as the Universitat Politècnica de Barcelona and changed its name in 1984 to reflect its regional presence. There's an interesting but really long video on the front page of the English version of the site, although, it is voiced over in English there are key words in Catalan that fly around.
  
• Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona)
  The UPF was founded in 1990 and was named after Pompeu Fabra, who laid down the standards of the modern Catalan language and was exiled during at the beginning of the Franco dictatorship. His published works include Normes ortogràfiques (Spelling Rules) published in 1913, Gramàtica catalana (Catalan Grammar) of 1918 and Diccionari general de la llengua catalana (General Dictionary of the Catalan Language) published in 1932.
  
• Universitat de Lleida (Lleida)
  The UdL was founded in 1991 bringing together all university courses which had been taught in Lleida as branches of universities in Barcelona since 1968. From 1300 until 1717, when a new model of university was created by Bourbon reformers, there existed the Estudi General de Lleida in which the current Universitat de Lleida has its roots.
  
• Universitat de Girona (Girona)
  The UdG was created in 1991 by decree of the Catalan government. Like Lleida, Girona had an Estudi General from 1446 (although classes only started in 1572) up until 1717
  
• Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Tarragona)
  The URV was also created in 1991 by decree of the Catalan government. It is named after Antoni Rovira i Virgili a famous Catalan writer, historian and politician. The first institution of university education in the area was founded by cardinal Gaspar Cervantes de Gatea in the 16th century.
  
• Universitat Ramon Llull (Barcelona & Tarragona)
  The URL was created in 1990 and has incorporated faculties and institutions of the area that have been founded from 1864 onwards.
  
• Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
  The UOC was created in 1994 as an initiative of the Catalan government to provide access to lifelong learning through the use of information technologies and a personalised educational model. It is on-line based, like the Open University in the UK.
  
• Universitat de Vic (Vic)
  The UVic was officially recognised by the Catalan Parliament in May 1997 and so is a young university but not the youngest in Catalonia.
  
• Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (Barcelona and Sant Cugat del Vallès )
  The UIC was founded in October 1997 and has two campuses: the Barcelona campus and the Sant Cugat campus. It another young university but, again, not the youngest in Catalonia.
  
• Universitat Abat Oliba CEU
  The UAO is the youngest university in Catalonia. Although it has its roots in the Centre Universitari Abat Oliba, it was officially recognised as the UAO by the Catalan Parliament in 2003.
  

I plan to find out more about the university reform in the early 1990s that is the reason so many universities were created in 1991 by the government in future posts :).

Becky X

Linguistic Roots

Catalan developed from the Vulgar Latin spoken in the Roman Spain.

The Iberian peninsula has been invaded several times since then:

The Visigoths (414 AD)
The Arabs (711-717 AD)

They both invaded the entire of Spain, but their languages had a little impact on Catalan.

However,

In 778 the Franks of Charlemagne conquered what is modern day Catalonia. The Marca Hispanica (Spanish mark) as they called it.

The local 'Vulgar Latin' evolved in close relation with the language of Charlemagne's Franks (Occitan) So, Catalan was born!!

Catalan differs from Occitan LESS than from Spanish!!

Catalan incorporated many Germanic words due to the Franks!

Germanic: Blao, Laith, Lothr, Raubon, Rauba, Reiks, Sape
Catalan: Blau, lleig, Lloure, Robar, Ropa, Ric, Sabo
English: Blue, Ugly, Free, To Rob, Clothes, Rich, Soap
French: Bleu, Laid, libre, Derober, Robe, Riche, Savon
German: Blau, häss(lich), Frei, Ausrauben, Robe, Reich, Seife

Also the words for many everyday concepts, in Catalan, are more similar to French and Occitan than Spanish!

cadira-Catalan
cadièra-Occitan
chaire-French
chair-English
silla- Spanish

taula-Catalan
taula-Occitan
table-French
mesa-Spanish
table-English

finestra-Catalan
fenèstra-Occitan
fenêtre-French
ventana-Spanish
window-English


terra-Catalan
tèrra-Occitan
terre-French
piso-Spanish
ground-English

oncle-Catalan
oncle-Occitan
oncle-French
tío-Spanish
uncle-English

cosí-Catalan
cosin-Occitan
cousin-French
primo-Spanish
cousin-English

nebot-Catalan
nebot-Occitan
neveu-French
sobrino-Spanish
nephew-English

net-Catalan
net-Occitan
net-French
limpio-Spanish
clean-English

brut-Catalan
brut-Occitan
sale-French
sucio-Spanish
dirty-English


Thus showing it's not only the culture that separates Catalonia from Castillian Spain... their roots grow from very different places.

John x

researched on: http://www.orbilat.com/Languages/Catalan/Catalan.html

Tots Sants i Fira de la Ratafia

After we've just celebrated Halloween and Bonfire night, i thought i'd look at some of Catalunya's biggest celebrations in November.

The first major festival is that of 'Tots Sants' or All Saints Day, this is not just restricted to Catalunya but is celebrated throughout the Western world. However, it is celebrated in Catalunya with people visiting the graves of those who have died to offer flowers, followed by a family lunch including seasonal foods like boniato (sweet potato) and castanyes (chestnuts) for dessert. Almond cakes called panellets are often eaten at this time to represent those prepared at funerals in ancient Spain.

The second is Fira de la Ratafia which takes place on the 24th and 25th of November in Besalu. It celebrates "Ratafia", a liquor that elaborated from green nuts. The main celebration of the festival is a traditional market in the main square of Besalu, to honor and present the local produce.

Steph xx

http://www.ehow.com/how_2064989_celebrate-all-saints-day-spain.html

http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/articles/catalan-public-holiday/index.html

http://www.rabbies.eu.com/festivals_fiestas.asp

Música en català

Com sabeu, hi ha moltes possibilitats d'escoltar música en català de franc a Internet. Aquí en teniu un exemple: l'Équilibriste és un grup de Mallorca, que ha posat el seu àlbum en línia. Si seleccioneu una cançó, podreu veure'n la lletra mentre l'escolteu.

Salut!

Laia

La Diada de Sant Jordi
I was looking through research on Catalan Feast days when I found ‘La Diada de Sant Jordi’ which I found very interesting.

This day, the 23rd April, is known as the ‘Day of Lovers’ and is often compared to our Valentines Day, however their tradition of exchanging gifts is a little different. Men give their sweethearts a rose, and women give their boyfriends a book. They give books because a bookseller in 1923 began to promote the holiday as a way to honour the simultaneous deaths of the two greatest men of literature: Miguel de Cervantes and Britain’s William Shakespeare, both deceased on April 23, 1616. As Barcelona was the publishing capital of the Spanish-speaking world, the fashion of exchanging books was quickly adopted to celebrate both love and literacy.

All over Catalonia, hundreds of flower stands selling roses and makeshift bookstalls are set up for the day. By the end of the day, almost four million roses and 400,000 books are purchased in the name of love. The amount of books sold on this day alone is just over half of the total yearly book sales in Catalonia! There is also a tradition of 24-hour reading sessions of Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes. The roses are presented together with a spike of wheat and a small red and yellow Catalonian flag. Ribbons are also used to tie together the roses, with printed words such as ‘Sant Jordi’ (Saint George), ‘Diada de la Rosa’ (Day of the Rose) an d ‘t’estimo’ (I love you).

This day is not an official non-working day, yet most people take the day off to enjoy it. The Sardana, the national dance of Catalonia, is performed throughout the day and dancers and musicians perform on nearly every Plaça. La Diada de Sant Jordi is the only day when the ‘Palau de la Generalitat’, Barcelona's main government building, is open to visitors. A huge display of roses honouring Saint George can be seen there. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ) has also made the 23rd April, the World Book and Copyright Day.

Below is a link to a mini video showing the grand scale of this event.

http://www.gencat.cat/catalunya/santjordi/eng/index.htm

Thanks, Chiara

Andorra

For this post, I thought I would write about a place I have visited,Andorra, where Catalan is officially spoken, along with Spanish, French and Portuguese. Andorra is a small country in southwestern Europe, bordered with France and Spain- though most of you will know this!!
Some common facts about Andorra:
It has 10.2million (estimated) visitors per year.
It is a tax haven- meaning their taxes are set at a low rate.
It is not part of the EU.
It declared war on imperial Germany in World War 1, but didn't actually fight.
In 1933, France occupied Andorra.
Now Andorra is a parliamentary co-principality with the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell, Catalonia, Spain.
The current Prime Minister is Jaume Bartumeu of the Social Democratic Party (PS).
The responsibility of defending Andorra, currently lies with France and Spain.

These facts are the things that interest me most about Andorra. I have visited Andorra, but didn't know most of these facts before researching for this post! You should all go and visit Andorra now! :)

Thanks, Sian x





Facts found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra
Picture found at: http://www.fotopaises.com/imagenes/ANDORRA/Andorra_Centro_Termal_Caldea.JPG

Bon vespre!

Avui he vist que heu posat coses sobre la Catalunya Nord i, com que també és el tema de la setmana, he pensat que us presentaria el meu músic favorit d'aquesta regió. Es diu Pascal Comelade i la seva música sempre em fa somriure. Aquí podreu trobar el vídeo de la seva cançó "Sense el ressò d'un dring". Espero que us agradi!

Laia

Carme Chacon

I've decided to write about another successful Catalan, but a female and very current one: Carme Chacon Piqueras.

Carme Chacon was born in Esplugues de Llobregat, a municipality just outside of Barcelona, in 1971. She studied Law at the University of Barcelona and graduated in 1994 with cum lauda honours for her thesis on 'Federalism and the 1982 Canadian Charter of Freedom and Rights'. Her fourth year studies were undertaken at Victoria University in Manchester (another link between the two cities). She went on to do many courses of Postgraduate Study, mainly in Canada, studying at 4 Universities including Osgoode Law School in Toronto and Montreal University.

Her political career began when she joined the Cataluna Young Socialists in 1989 and became a member of the Catalan Socialist Party in 1994. She was Deputy Mayor responsible for economic ad human resources and public safety and elected as Town Hall councillor in 1999. She was an international observer for the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania in 1996 and 1997. In 2000 she was elected Socialist MP for Barcelona and her career turned international when she became the PSOE spokesperson in 2003, the year before the party came into government.

After the party came into government, Chacon was appointed Secretary of Culture (2004) and New Housing Minister (2007). However, she made headlines when she became the first woman in Spanish government to be appointed head of the Ministry of Defence in 2008 as Zapatero came into power for a second term. She was one of the women who made up half of Zapatero's new equally gender-divided cabinet and was also pregnant at the time of her appointment, making it a slightly controversial appointment yet also showcasing the new equality and democracy that is coming into Spain over time.

Kat x

Catalunya Nord

Just found another website that you all might find useful -

http://www.catalogne-nord.com/index.html

I believe it is the official site for the Catalunya Nord region, so there's a couple of interesting things on there :]

Christina x.

Llafranc

I was having a look through my pictures from the exchanges I've been on to Mataró, as I was originally going to write about the city, when I came across some rather beautiful beach pictures. So instead I'm going to tell you a little bit that I've found out about the town where they were taken, and of course the pictures will be at the bottom! (I'm getting kinda good at this technical stuff:).)

Llafranc is a small costal town on the Costa Brava. It belongs to the municipality of Palafrugell in the province of Girona. You can get a rough idea of where it is from the maps below. If you click on an image it will let you see a bigger version :).

With roughly 300 habitants it may be small but it seems to be a big tourist attraction and when you see the beaches I think you'll understand why!

After seeing these pictures I'm sure it'll come as no surprise that Llafranc is often referred to as the "Laguna Beach of Spain" and that a small house on the seafront could cost up to 4 million euros!

It's important to mention the famous Hotel Llafranch that dominates the seafront.



The hotel was opened in 1958 by three brothers; José, Mario and Manuel Bisbe. Since then it's developed into a prestigious hotel. Over the years many celebrities have visited the hotel including Rock Hudson, Sofia Loren, Paco de Lucía and Elizabeth Taylor.

Llafranc is a hidden gem of the Costa Brava and well worth a visit!

Becky x

One thing you always learn about when you study Spanish is the topic of bullfighting. So I wanted to see what Catalonia's view was. I found many articles that showed me that Catalonia was generally a region against bullfighting.

An article from The Telegraph in 2006: Catalonia's parliament is poised today to take the first step to abolishing bullfighting throughout the autonomous region in north-eastern Spain.

The campaign against what many see as a cruel and unnecessary part of Spanish culture has intensified in recent years, with the people of Catalonia at the forefront of the movement.

Barcelona, the capital of the region, declared itself "an anti-bullfighting city" two years ago following a series of public protests and a petition of more than 250,000 names.

Another 22 Catalan municipalities followed suit. Despite these public declarations the bullrings can be closed only by a change of the law, a process that ERC, the pro-independence party of the republican Left, will initiate today with a motion to amend existing animal cruelty legislation, from which bullfighting is currently exempt.

However the city does still have an impressive Bullfighting stadium : La Plaza de Toros Monumental de Barcelona is in the Eixample area of Barcelona. Designed in Neomudejar and Byzantine style by architect Ignasi Mas i Martorell the building was inaugurated in 1914 and originally called "El Sport."

In 1916 it was renamed to the current name "Monumental." It has a seating capacity of just under 20.000 spectators and with standing room in the arena until the Olympic games and the arrival of new and bigger arenas, the Bull Ring was one of the few places in Barcelona that could fit a crowd of 25.000.

Concert names like The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Dire Straits and Bruce Springsteen have all performed at the Monumental.

There are still regular bull fights in Barcelona although Catalonia officially regards itself as being against the sport in General.

The Monumental bull ring is home to the Bullfighting Museum of Barcelona, which displays costumes of famous bullfighters, bulls' heads famous, historical documents and other items related to bullfighting.

Adeu for now!!

Andreaxx

Tourism in Barcelona

Whilst doing a bit of research on the impact of tourism on the city of Barcelona, I came across a website that you all might find useful.

It's based on the new plan to 'to strengthen Barcelona’s appeal as a tourist destination and to reinforce its position worldwide' as well as finding a successful way to manage tourism in the city drawn up by Barcelona City Council. It's known as the 'Pla Estrategic de Turisme de Barcelona 2015'

Thought that I'd share it with you all, hope it is of some use! :]

http://www.turismebcn2015.cat/

Christina x.

"Salvador Dalí is a good draughtsman and a disgusting human being. The one does not invalidate or, in a sense, affect the other."

Bon Dia!
I am of the opinion that a good blog entry is not necessarily a long one, so you'll be pleased to know there's no copied and pasted articles from wikipedia for you to wade your way through today he he!
Salvador Dalí is probably one of the most famous artists of the 20 century so I'm not going to write reams of information about when was he born, when did he die and what did he do in between, because, you probably already know.
I will however try and write a list of interesting facts about him, that you may or may not already know, which are hopefully enlightening and funny.

- As a young man Dali claimed to both Anarchist and Communist at times however he never seemed to have real conviction for any especially during the Spanish Civil War.

-Dali seemed to go in any direction the wind was blowing at the time. In his youth he may well have claimed to be an anarchist but as soon as Franco gets into power Dali suddenly becomes very pally with Franco. Wise? or cowardly?

-well maybe wise, being an artist at that time he probably would have died if he didn't support the regime, look at what happened to Lorca.

-However it is reported that Dali sent a telegram to Franco praising him for signing the death warrants of prisoners: too far??

-Dali also congratulated Franco for "clearing Spain of Destructive forces"

-Can we blame him? Dali was a Catholic and the socialist rebels did reportedly killed over 7000 priests

-Dali lived in France for 3 years but fled at the first sign of the war in Europe, he was criticised for this.

-regardless of anything else Dali was a true genius.

-"Salvador Dali is a good draughtsman and a disgusting human being. The one does not invalidate or, in a sense, affect the other." George Orwell

-Dali carried with him a leather rhinoceros and refused to sit upon anything else.

-Dali referred to himself in 3rd person all the time.

-Dali once said "Dali is immortal and will not die"

-Dali was killed by a fire in his house caused by an electric blanket.

-In the town where he lived during the later stages of his life, Pubol, he would go out with a leopard on a chain and walk it like a dog.

- he was famous for saying "every morning upon awakening, I experience a supreme pleasure: that of being Salvador Dalí."

John x

Mmm Catalan Food

Once again I am going to write about something I LOVE! Food is very important to me and I love different cultures tastes and experiences, so I have chosen to find out more about Catalan food. There was loads to write about so I've done a little on the history but more importantly, general facts, especially about cakes :)

The food in Catalonia is quite distinct and goes back to the time of the Romans. Since then it has been using recipes and ideas from the Italian, French, Greek, Arabian and Jewish cuisines. It has the characteristics of the traditional Mediterranean cuisine, so is full in vegetables, fish and meats, all cooked with olive oil of the best quality.
Food is an important part of the Catalan culture; something that we don’t really have here in England, and the time dedicated to eating is one of the main leisure activities in the Catalonian society. They usually have lunch around 2pm and their dinner at 10pm, which is different to England and other European cultures, who tend to eat earlier.

The first known published Catalan recipe book is "Llibre de Sent Soví" (1324), which has more than two hundred recipes. This cooking manuscript, one of the oldest in Europe, is proof that already in those times, Catalonia enjoyed a very refined cuisine. Nowadays, the Catalan cuisine is regarded all over the world for the great innovation it has developed to remain updated without losing the identity of so many years of tradition.

Phrases:
• A la Catalana can mean either a dish with raisins or pine nuts.
• Al meu avi means, 'granny's way,' and indicates super traditional cooking.
• Al mercat literally, 'to the market', implies freshness and it is the latest 'in' thing.
• Casolana means home style cooking.
• A la Brasa means grilled over a wood fire, which is very popular these days as most people can't do this at home.

Cakes and Pastries:
Catalan coca is a very popular flat and oval shaped pastry, usually made of a sort of Victoria sponge. The texture varies, from dry and flaky to moist or spongy, and the ingredients and toppings range from sugar, anisette and dried fruit, to tangy fried onion and green pepper.
Traditionally, different coques are made for each feast day. The most well-known is the mid-summers eve coca de Sant Joan, which is leavened, candied and glazed. Coca de llardons is made with sugared chicharrones (pork scratchings) and is eaten the Carnival week before Lent.

Many towns and villages in Catalonia have local specialities:
• Alt Empordà produces ‘taps’ which are a champagne cork shaped sponge cake. It also produces ‘flaona’ which is a flaky cone stuffed with cheese, cream cheese or whipped cream.
• Arbúcies (La Selva), is famous for its hard almond biscuits called ‘carquinyols’.
• Girona is famous for its Pets de Monja which translates as Nun’s Farts. These are Catalan biscuits, yet the inventor was an Italian baker who named them petto di monacca - a nun's chest - which eventually got roughly translated into Catalan 'Nun's Farts'.
• Vilafranca de Penedes produces Catanias which are chocolate-covered almonds – an Italian recipe.

But, the most famous Catalan dessert is crema catalana - a custard pudding sealed with a coating of burnt caramel.

Thanks, Chiara

http://www.iberianature.com/material/spain_food/catalan_food_guide.html
http://www.gencat.cat/catalunya/eng/cuina.htm

"Mes que un club"

Bon dia, bona tarde I bona nit to all the ‘CATAFANS’ out there, and welcome to this edition of the Catalan Dragons blog. I shall be exploring the football team that have provided Catalonia with enormous pride over many years, FC Barcelona. As the saying goes, ‘mes que un club’, Barcelona seldom fail to live up to this illustrious message. The city of Barcelona itself is the capital of the autonomous community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain. Recognised as a global city due to its finance, commerce, media and international trade it provides the perfect base for a globally successful football team.

Since it was founded as a new football team in 1899, Barca have progressed to become one of the footballing giants of the modern era, playing host to the infamous stadium, el Camp Nou, which holds almost 100,000 people. The club adopted their name in 1939 due to the induction of General Franco. He enforced on all clubs that they must have a Spanish name and the team thus became Club de futbol Barcelona. The Catalan flag was even removed from the team badge. Despite this, supporters of the club and speakers of Catalan knew that the Camp Nou was one of the only places, under Franco, in which they freely speak Catalan. Barcelona matches and the Camp Nou were thus seen as a refuge from the upcoming repression. The team highlighted the solidarity of the Catalan community.

Since being founded the club has won an abundance of titles and cups. They hold the record for number of wins in the ‘Copa del rey’, ‘Supercopa de Espana’, ‘Copa Eva Duarte’ and the ‘Copa de la liga.’ They have also won the Spanish title 19 times and been runner up 22 times. In terms of European success the club have won the UEFA Super Cup 3 times, the UEFA Cup Winners Cup 4 times and the UEFA Champions league 3 times. The most recent being last year where they beat English champions, Manchester United, in the final.

Barcelona provided a superlative performance in last year’s Champions league final which depicts the yearning of Catalonia itself to be noticed. With Catalonia’s desire to become autonomous, Barcelona provides a case to show that Catalonia is a force to be reckoned with through their conquering of Europe.

The Mancunian and Catalan Textile Industries

Okay it took me some time and some hardcore internet searching to find any links between Catalonia and Manchester, but I think I’ve found some! The main link I’ve focussed on is their shared history within the textile industry.

Manchester was one of Britain’s first towns to become industrialised and this was due to the major cotton industry that sprung up in the south of Lancashire and Cheshire during the late 1700s and early 1800s. The processing of this product took place in Manchester and, under such conditions, the city rapidly became one of the most industrialised cities worldwide and the centre of the cotton industry; so much so that it became known as “Cottonopolis” an “Warehouse City” and to this day many Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans continue to refer to common household linen such as bed sheets and pillow cases as Manchester. This boom in cotton manufacturing spilled into the creation of other industries in the cities, firstly in the production of machinery to power the trade itself and then into the manufacture of other products. Manchester was only surpassed by Bolton as the largest city in England in the 1850s and in 1913 still produced 65% of the world’s cotton.

Catalonia was also to become the major centre of the textile industry in Spain during a similar period, albeit more slowly, and was to benefit hugely from the technological advances made in the cotton producing centres of Britain in transforming Catalonia into a major industrial hub of Spain. The technology created to power the industry in England by such figures as Hargreaves (Who created the spinning jenny which was to be the most widely used model in Catalonia) and by Arkwright (whose machinery was used in the Lancashire mills that provided the raw cotton for processing in Manchester) were crucial in revolutionising Catalan mills in a nation that was behind the drag curve with regards to industrialisation. This allowed Catalonia to become the major cotton capital in Spain and thus in the Spanish empire, and the parallels drawn with the famous British city led to Barcelona becoming known as “Little Manchester”

So this is the link I found! I thought it was pretty interesting, and taught me a lot about Manchester as well as Barcelona!

Enjoy!
Chris

La Sagrada Familia

La Sagrada Familia is an expiatory Roman Catholic church in Barcelona which has been under contruction since 1882 but still remains unfinished. It was originally the project of architect Francisco de Paula del Villar who was comissioned to build a church on the site however he resigned only a year later and so in 1883 Antoni Gaudí was commissioned to carry on the project (which he redesigned completely), and continued with the work until he died in 1926. I know Chris is our Gaudí expert so I was hoping this post would tie in quite nicely with his post.

Unfortunately, during the Civil War, construction was interrupted and parts of the building were destroyed meaning that most of the plans were lost. Work has continued on the church with architects trying to incorporate reconstructions of the old plans with modern adaptations. La Sagrada Familia is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the whole of Spain, drawing millions of tourists to Barcelona each year, and hopefully will be open for worship by the end of 2010, and furthermore all building work should be completed by 2025, if all goes to plan.

This was my first post (very late i know..) but I chose the Sagrada Familia because I think that it's a beautiful building, and although part of it's charm is that it is still under construction after all these years, it would be nice to see it finally completed.

Emma xx

Guifré el Pilós (Wilfred the Hairy)

Well, after reading the storyboard in Monday’s lesson about Catalunya Nord, I thought that I would find out a bit more on Guifré el Pilós (Wilfred the Hairy) and his influence on Catalan culture.

Guifré el Pilós , commonly known in English as Wilfred the Hairy , was Count of Urgell (870–897), Cerdanya (870–897), Barcelona (878–897), Girona (878–897), Besalú (878–897), and Ausona (886–897). He was called the Hairy because, quite simply he was. One story tells that his mother recognised him on his return from a youthful exile in Flanders, as he had hair on a part of the body where it should not have been. Some sources suggest that it was the soles of his feet that were the unusual site.

As with so many historical figures, details of his birth are sketchy, and those we do have are of doubtful, traditional origins. What is known is that he was of Gothic descent, from the region of Carcassonne, born near Prades. His father was supposedly Wilfred of Arriaount, who was murdered, though later avenged by his son.

In the middle of the ninth century, Catalonia was recovering from Saracen and Frankish rule, growing and repopulating under the control of local counts whose power was given to them by the Carolingian empire. The empire was struggling to maintain control. The area was really controlled by individuals, local warlords who sought to help their own localities (comarques) to blossom. Intent on bringing independence to the area, and shaking off outside control, Count Guifré decided to take action.

Between the years 870 and 878, he (with his brother) fought against the resistance to his plans of independence. This done, he took up residence in the recently liberated city of Barcelona, built himself a grand palace and began to grow his political power. He integrated with the clergy. He set about a massive program of building churches and abbeys throughout the region. He had effective control over the whole of Catalonia. Beginning with himself as the Count of Barcelona, Guifré established hereditary titles (as above) Peace now truly reigned in the area - trade and economy blossomed, and the nobles supplied regular troops to defend ports and communication routes.

By 883 or 884, the Muslims became increasingly uneasy by the expansion of the Christian Counties to the north. The Muslim ruler Ismail ibn Musa ibn Qasi fortified Lleida in response. Provoked by this, Wilfred attacked Lleida and Ismail. The attack however was a disaster and Wilfred died in battle in 11th August 897. He was buried in the monastery at Ripoll.

One of the stranger legends surrounding him was the slaying of a dragon, brought to the Llobregat river by the Saracens. He attacked the beast with an oak branch, before finishing it off with lance and sword. In this way, he is associated with Saint George, patron saint of Catalonia.

The origin of the Catalan flag is also said to originate with the hairy hero - it is said that he was seriously wounded in the battle for Barcelona, and the Frankish king Louis the Pious visited him, and noticed his shield, covered in gold leaf. Keen to honouring him, the king dipped his fingers in Wilfred's blood and drew them across the shield, leaving four crimson stripes.
So, could it be said that Guifré el Pilós is really the hero of Catalonia? Although later over-run, he had established a united region and thus has risen as a figure of independence for Catalonia and an individual of importance for contemporary Catalan nationalists. Most importantly, he was called Wilfred the Hairy, and I think any man is deserved of the title of a ‘hero’ for putting up with that name!

Christina :]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfred_the_Hairy
http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guifr%C3%A9_el_Pil%C3%B3s

Hola,

After reading this article today, http://www.avui.cat/cat/notices/2009/10/l_8217_estat_no_ha_posat_ni_cinc_a_la_catedral_74542.php I've decided to do my post on Barcelona Cathedral as it's in quite a sorry state of disrepair and in desperate need of money, yet is often overlooked both as a tourist attraction and as a piece of architecture in favour of La Sagrada Familia.

The Cathedral is located right in the heart of Barcelona's Gothic quarter, one of the most visually interesting and intricate parts of Barcelona (I think) and its construction spans over 1500 years from its humble beginnings as a basilica built in 343 A.D. by the Romans, to the most recent and final addition of a spire in 1913. Between these, the Cathedral had a Roman chapel and cloister added and the main construction began in 1298 under Jaume II.

Despite having survived civil wars and black death to come into fruition the Cathedral is now in very poor disrepair and the facade and roof are under scaffolding to repair damage. The state has invested 12 million euro but the estimated final costs are set to exceed 16 million. There is a campaign within the church of 'sponsoring a stone' where visitors can literally pay for one stone that goes into repairing the Cathedral.

One of the nicest things about the Cathedral I think is the views from the roof. You go up in a lift and are then given free reign to wander about over the roof and on a clear day it is beautiful, and a lot less crowded than the other high-viewing points in Barcelona. It also means you can see the architecture really close up and see why it's so important that the church is restored and also appreciate the amount of detail that has gone into the building originally (at the top are some pictures taken from the roof). The other cool thing about the Cathedral are the geese contained in the courtyard: these represent a year in the life of Santa Eulalia who was martyred and then buried in the Cathedral. The courtyard itself is really pretty and a nice thing to have in the middle of a Cathedral, especially with the geese.

So if you're in Barcelona go and visit the Cathedral, partly to help invest in the restoration of such an important building which is quite a welcome change to all the modernist architecture around the city, the combination of which helps to make Barcelona so attractive and vibrant and also because it has amazing views right across the city!