Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Barcelona Gothic Sun Hat


I will attempt to share some of the history of this beautiful City in Spain, where some of my ancestors came from. Reader be warned that I willnot be bale to show you what it means to be there, as it is beyond words to express the fantastic voyage in time that I experienced. Needless to say this is a hat that was inspired by the Gothic Architectures that I was surrounded by on a daily basis. Later as I get my journey in Pictures ready to share with you I will go more into detail. Barcelona has my gene pool and my Heart as well, "que tenguis un bon dia" as they would say in Catalan.

Barcelona (Catalan IPA: [bəɾsəˈlonə], Spanish IPA: [baɾθeˈlona]), is the capital and most populous city of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,605,602 in 2006. It is located on the Mediterranean coast (41°23′N, 2°11′E), between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs, and is limited to the west by the Serra de Collserola ridge (512 m/1,680 ft).

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Barcelona is a major economic centre, with one of Europe's principal Mediterranean ports, and its airport is the second largest in Spain. Founded as a Roman city, Barcelona became the capital of the Counts of Barcelona and the Crown of Aragon. Besieged several times during its history, Barcelona is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination and has a rich cultural heritage. Particularly renowned are architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner that have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

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The foundation of Barcelona is the subject of two different legends. The first attributes the founding of the city to Hercules 400 years before the building of Rome, and that it was rebuilt by the Carthaginian Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal, who named the city Barcino after his family, in the 3rd century BC. The second legend attributes the foundation directly to Hamilcar Barca.[4]

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About 15 BC, the Romans redrew the town as a castrum (Roman military camp) centred on the "Mons Taber", a little hill near the contemporary city hall (Plaça de Sant Jaume). Under the Romans it was a colony, with the surname of Faventia,[5] or, in full, Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino[6] or Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino. Mela[7] mentions it among the small towns of the district, probably as it was eclipsed by its neighbour Tarraco (modern Tarragona); but it may be gathered from later writers that it gradually grew in wealth and consequence, favoured as it was with a beautiful situation and an excellent harbour.[8] It enjoyed immunity from imperial burdens.[9] The city minted its own coins; some from the era of Galba survive.



It is in my opinion a great city with a great multi ethnic population. More to come.

3 comments:

Deneen said...

I love the hat-another place I would like to see in my lifetime.

BTW, ironically, your postcard arrived to me today-thank you. Elena was thrilled, but then informed me she thought "Barcelona" was a type of cheese (apparently confused with Asiago)

Anonymous said...

The hat is gorgeous, Andy,,, you are amazing!

Ladrón de Basura (a.k.a. Junk Thief) said...

Hi Andy. I am glad to discover that you have a blog as well as your videos. I look forward to reading more. When were you in Barcelona? I was there November 1-7, so we may have just crossed paths.

I am crafty too, though not with needles, but I'll suggest your blog to some of my needle working friends.

Almost two years without blogging August 2020

Life can be a bowl of strawberries when cheries are not available.   It has been almost two years since I have been in this blog.  I have s...