Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
wornRenaissancegatewayonc/deSantaLlúcialookforthecuriouscarvedswallow-and-tor-
toise postbox.
The
PalauEpiscopal
, just beyond at the western end of c/de Santa Llúcia, was the bishop's
palace and built on a grander scale altogether. Though you're not allowed inside, you can go
asfarasthegatestoseethefineoutdoorstairway;there'sapatioatthetopwithRomanesque
wall paintings.
Plaça Nova
Jaume I
The large
Plaça Nova
, facing the cathedral, marks one of the medieval entrances to the old
town - north of it, you're fast entering the wider streets and more regular contours of the
modern city. Even if you're sticking with the Barri Gòtic for now, walk over to study the
frieze surmounting the modern College of Architects, the
Collegid'Arquitectes
, on the oth-
er side of the square (a tourist information office is located on the college's ground floor).
Designed in 1960 from sketches supplied by Picasso, it has a crude, almost graffiti-like qual-
ity, at odds with the more stately buildings to the side. Picasso himself refused to come to
Spain to oversee the work, unwilling to return to his home country while Franco was still in
power.
Reial Cercle Artístic and Dalí Barcelona
C/dels Arcs 5 • Daily 9am-10pm • €10 • 933 187 866,
reialcercleartistic.cat
• Jaume I
Just a short walk from the cathedral, the handsome Gothic palace housing the
Reial Cercle
Artístic
(Royal Artistic Circle) hosts various exhibitions and concerts, though the big draw
is
Dalí Barcelona
, the collection of 44 wildly original bronze sculptures by Salvador Dalí.
They were completed in the 1970s as a private commission for a wealthy Catalan business-
man, and are significant in that they were made by Dalí himself, rather than to his designs,
as was far more common. The sculptures, large and small, are theatrically displayed under
Gothic arches, behind swags of red velvet curtain, and depict various themes that fascinated
Dalí throughout his life: the sea, women, horses, mythology, religion and so on. From
Cos-
micElephant
to the
SevenDaysofCreation
, the sculptures are arranged in groups alongside
hundreds of drawings, sketches, watercolours and photographs by Dalí.
Plaça del Rei
Jaume I
