HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The Olympic Games in 1992 brought about a renaissance of this millennial
city, which has always been and still is the focal point of modernization
in Spain. Barcelona has many cities locked within its breast. It can
purport to have been a Roman city, an ancient, Gothic and aristocratic
city, a significant Mediterranean port, and capital of Catalonia, one of
the most dynamic regions of Europe. Her rich historical past is the base
on which the foundations of this new city were laid, this outward-looking
and cosmopolitan city, which remains habitable thanks to its natural
boundaries of sea and mountains.
ORIGINS OF THE CITY
It is said that the name Barcelona derives from the arrival at her shores
from Africa of the hero Hercules almost 2,000 years B.C. According to
legend, this expedition was made up of nine boats ' 'Barca' (boat) ' 'nona'
(nine) with colonists aboard. Nevertheless, it was the Romans who left an
indelible print on the then-named Barcino in the first century B.C.
Barcino never had the importance and power attained by Tarraco (modern
Tarragona), the Roman par excellence, whose decline finally began at the
same time as Barcinona's rise in the Visigoth period.
THE MEDIEVAL CITY
After a century of Muslim domination ' a time of intensive commercial
activity, and peaceful religious coexistence among Jews, Christians and
Muslims ' came the arrival of Christian governors, and with this event the
Muslim community was confined outside the city and the Jews to one part of
it, the Call, nowadays several streets run across it - Palla, Banys Nous,
Bisbe and the Plaza Sant Jaume (Plaça Sant Jaume), and it goes as far as
Calle Ferran. The Jewish community had been the champion of culture and
commerce in Barcelona between the 11th and 13th centuries. However, their
confinement to the ghetto of the 'Call' district presaged events in 1492
when they were banished from the Iberian Peninsula. At this time, the city
received the name 'La Ciudad Condal', being the capital of various
'condados' (shires) of Cataluña Vieja (old Catalonia). Barcelona
championed the expansionist policies of the Crown of Aragon towards the
lands of Valencia and Baleares and became the naval base for a strong
trading centre. The joint power of Catalonia-Aragon extended to Sicily,
Sardinia, Malta, Naples, Albania, Corsica, Athens and part of Greece, and
is characterized by pioneering the establishment of social norms, maritime
regulations and other customs that other parts of Europe were later to
copy. Catalonia was proclaimed self-governing in the 15th century, with
the establishment of headquarters in the Palace of the Generalitat (Palau
de la Generalitat), across from the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall), in Sant
Jaume Square. The city's growth during Medieval times coincided with the
blossoming of its Gothic architecture, reflected in such magnificent works
as the Cathedral, the churches of Sant Just and Sant Jaume and the
basilicas of Santa María del Pi and Santa María del Mar, works
representing the zenith of Catalonian Gothic architecture.
UNION WITH CASTILLE
Thanks to the marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand ' the well-known Catholic
Monarchs ' and after uniting with the kingdom of Castille in the 15th
century, Barcelona, Catalonia and the kingdom of Aragon found themselves
immersed in profound economic and political decline which continued until
the 18th century. This situation was brought about by the conquest and
colonization of America, to the detriment of commerce in the
Mediterranean, and by the rise of Turkey as a great Mediterranean maritime
power. The region's death knell came about from the loss of its statutory
privileges as a result of backing the Archduke Charles of Austria in the
Spanish War of the Succession, who lost against the Bourbons led by a
triumphant Phillip V.
CULTURAL RENAISSANCE AND MODERNISM
It would not be until the 19th century, with the industrial revolution and
the cultural renaissance, that the city returned to its former glory.
Industrialization ran parallel to the renaissance of the Catalan language
(the 'Renaixença'). The Modernist movement emerged in the arts, a
movement for which the city is today best known and admired
internationally. The industrial bourgeois pioneered all these movements.
Influenced by nationalistic movements in other parts of Europe, they
opposed the trend towards Castilianisation embodied in the Decrees of the
'Nueva Planta' originating from Madrid. Modernism, derived from Art
Nouveau and exposed to various historical and folkloric influences,
decorated many of the buildings of the Barcelona 'Eixample' ' the parts of
Barcelona designed and built with the plans of Ildefons Cerdà in
reticulated style. It was a district for the cultured bourgeois class of
the era. The greatest embodiment of Modernism, Antoni Gaudí, designed
some of the most well-known Modernist works. Outstanding amongst them are
the Sagrada Familia, Casa Milà also known as La Pedrera, Casa Batlló and
Park Güell (Parc Güell), buildings and places that are visited by
tourists from all over the world.
MODERN BARCELONA
The post-war years and the Franco dictatorship spelled a long period of
political and cultural repression for Barcelona and all of Spain. Now,
after 25 years of democracy, during which Barcelona's citizens have shared
their vote between socialists and nationalists, the city has completely
recovered. Under the mandate of Pasqual Maragall, the city opened up to
the sea with the building of the infrastructure for the 1992 Olympic
Games: the Olympic Village (Vila Olímpica), of notably modern design; the
Anillo Olímpico (Anella Olímpica, or Olympic Ring) by Montjüic and
Puerto Olímpico (Port Olímpic, or the Olympic Port). This was also the
city's best era for its football club, Barça.
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