Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Catalan Gothic
Catalan Gothic did not follow the same course as the style typical of northern Europe. Dec-
oration here tends to be more sparing and the most obvious defining characteristic is the tri-
umph of breadth over height. While northern European cathedrals reach for the sky, Catalan
Gothic has a tendency to push to the sides, stretching its vaulting design to the limit.
The Saló del Tinell, with a parade of 15m arches (among the largest ever built without re-
inforcement) holding up the roof, is a perfect example of Catalan Gothic. Another is the
present home of the Museu Marítim, the Drassanes, Barcelona's medieval shipyards. In their
churches, too, the Catalans opted for a more robust shape and lateral space - step into the
Església de Santa Maria del Mar or the Església de Santa Maria del Pi and you'll soon get
the idea.
Another notable departure from what you might have come to expect of Gothic north of
the Pyrenees is the lack of spires and pinnacles. Bell towers tend to terminate in a flat or
nearly flat roof. Occasional exceptions prove the rule - the main facade of Barcelona's La
Catedral, with its three gnarled and knobbly spires, does vaguely resemble the outline that
confronts you in cathedrals in Chartres or Cologne. But then it was a 19th-century addition,
admittedly to a medieval design.
Catalonia's vast 14th-century mercantile empire fuelled Barcelona's boom. All manner of
goods flowed to and from Sardinia, Flanders, North Africa and other places, with Catalan
Jews carrying out much of this trade. The later pogroms, Inquisition and expulsion of
Jews had devastating financial consequences and helped reduce Barcelona to penury.
Late Gothic
Gothic had a longer use-by date in Barcelona than in many other European centres. By the
early 15th century, the Generalitat still didn't have a home worthy of its name, and architect
Marc Safont set to work on the present building on Plaça de Sant Jaume. Even renovations
carried out a century later were largely in the Gothic tradition, although some Renaissance
elements eventually snuck in - the facade on Plaça de Sant Jaume is a rather disappointing
result.
Carrer de Montcada, in La Ribera, was the result of a late-medieval act of town planning.
Eventually, mansions belonging to the moneyed classes of 15th- and 16th-century Barcelona
were erected along it. Many now house museums and art galleries. Although these former
mansions appear forbidding on the outside, their interiors often reveal another world, of
