A UNESCO World Heritage Sight, Park Guell was built between 1900 and 1914. It was supposed to be a housing development and park for rich industrialists -- a summer retreat, but only one of the expected 61 houses were built. Instead, it opened to the public in 1926 (same year Gaudi died). His patron Eusebi Guell hired him to design the park and public buildings. Gaudi did not design/build the one house that was done.
The park is so popular with tourists that the authorities only allow 400 people in per half hour. The public areas are not that large, but, as with anything by Gaudi, they are stunning. The colors, the curved lines, the building tops, and the benches are all signature Gaudi. If you come to Barcelona, plan in advance and buy your tickets before you get here.
Sagrada Familia from Park Guell.
The famed Porter's Lodge
at the entrance to the park.
Look at the detail, the curves. No straight
lines from Gaudi here at the park.
Awesome building topper.
The famed dragon staircase,
although it looks more like a
chameleon to me!
A close-up of the dragon, aka the
salamander, which is the colorful
symbol
Look at the level of detail in this retaining
wall. A retaining wall for crying out loud!
The emblem of Catalonia, with a beast to
give us a fountain. The fountain actually
runs the length of the staircase.
These tile shard mosiacs (here, the dragon's
foot) are ubiquitous in Gaudi's works.
Much of the Greek theater esplanade was
under refurbishment, but there were enough
benches open to the public that we
could enjoy it. Besides, the refurb is
necessary to fully display Gaudi's genius.
Part of the refurbed benches.
The imagination that went into
creating the viaducts is beyond
belief.
No comments:
Post a Comment