By Judy J. Pinegar – Pictures by John J. O’Dell
And by that I mean “full of wonder.” First was the Museo d’ Historia de Barcelona. In over three hours we walked from the 1st century BC to the13th century and back to the 21st century, and it was all in the same place. Let me explain… apparently the people used to build on top of other peoples buildings, using the stones, then sometimes reusing them to make the place their own as the land filled in.
So taking an elevator down, down down..we come to the 1st century an archaeological dig within the bowels of three buildings and under an adjourning plaza (Plaza del Rey). First stop was a fullonica workshop (clothes washing) and tinctoria workshop (dying of clothes) from the 2nd century. You could see the basins, and drains, and even the color “Egyptian blue” on the stone tubs!
A little higher was a 3rd century fish salting and factory for making fish sauce called “garum,” then to my delight was a whole winemaking facility, built in the late 3rd century. You could see where they stomped the grapes, fermented and then pressed, and stored the wine, with the help of elevation changes as there were no pumps back then! See John’s pictures.
Then the Episcopal religious complex of a baptistery, bishops home, and church evolved on higher level in the 4th to the 8th century, that then became with some new additions, the house of a count/ and then royal palace, the very one (according to our guide) where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella gave Christopher Columbus the contract to explore the “new world” for 1/10th of what he could find there. (Apparently they later reneged on the contract and poor Christopher died a pauper.) Then we were back on the street in 2015 Barcelona with great street musicians.
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A day later we saw the most iconic church in Barcelona, La Sagrata Familia Church. Antonio Gaudi began as chief architect in 1883 at the age of 33. He died in 1926 with only the nativity facade (one of three planned) completed. But work has continued, now through donations and the entrance fees. When I was here with my daughter 15 years ago, the interior was not completed, and even now I would say it is about 7/8ths finished inside, but it became a church when Pope Benedict XVI consecrated it in 2010. There are now two facades mostly finished, the final one, meant to be the churches main entrance is scheduled for completion in 2026 …or later! I could say more but you sort to have to see it to believe it so I leave you to John’s pictures.
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