Barcelona History, Culture, and Arts Concentration

Summer Solstice Sunrise at Stonehenge  Holy Moly! We will be together in Barcelona in five days!  Most of us will  arrive in Barcelona on Tuesday, June 23rd, the eve of one of the most important saint days for that city. That night we'll experience an evening celebration that's steeped in history, astronomy, spirituality, and community. The saint day on the 24th marks both the birthday of St. John the Baptist and the summer solstice- the longest day of the year and official arrival of summer.  Humans have honored soltices and equinoxes at least since neolithic ties, relying on monuments like Stonehenge to calculate these annual langmarks in the earth's relationship to the sun.  (In Spain,  the  Abrigo de Matacabras is a neolithic dolmen tomb oriented to align with the solstices like Stonehenge does.)   While 2026's actual longest day of the year falls on June 21, Catalunya celebrates the solstice on the eve of St. John's Day, an evening know...

I'm not going to have time to introduce the history of Catalonia effectively, nor am I the right person to do so, for so many reasons. So I'm farming it out.  Here are a few sources I recommend:  Useful Websites quick facts and images from the BBC Very rich interactive site at the Museu d'Historia de Catalunya from UNCSA library-- ebooks available if you're signed in at the library:  Michael Eaude,  A people's history of Catalonia, 2022  Andrew Dowling, Catalonia, a New History, 2023 Brian A. Catlos. The victors and the vanquished : Christians and Muslims of Catalonia and Aragon, 1050-1300, 2004 (history of the battle for religious dominance in the Iberian peninsula over several hundred years) Video intros-- all good, different length commitment:  3 Minutes! Very informative: covers Catalunyan politics and government very clearly 8 minutes S uper fast, informal,  Shows the balance of Spanish and Catalan nfluence in Catalunya 30 minutes on Catalan cul...

Rambling Several in our Group mentioned that their favorite way to get to know a city is just to ramble. That's certainly true for you. Don't forget your favorite walking shoes. I'm happy that our full schedule does make room for that!   This post is not much of my original work. I've borrowed nearly everything from two tourist sites, Barcelona Life and Barcelona Tourist Guide. I've included their sublinks in many places. Barcelona Life includes much more detail. I made a google map with pins on the major places we will live , work, and play while in the city. I'll be curious to hear how helpful this is-- I didn't spend much time, but thought something like this might be helpful and was worth testing. Let me know what you think.  Map Source.   First, Barcelona ranges over 39 square miles. In summer, we can expect pretty much everything to be crowded, most particularly the tourist areas of La Rambla and Ciutat Vella/Barrio Gótic (Old City/Gothic Quarter). I...