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lunes, 21 de mayo de 2012

BARCELONA GOTHIC QUARTER: PLAÇA DEL REI


Today I would like to pay tribute to one of the places inside the Gothic Quarter I like the most: La Plaça del Rei. I highlighted this square in a post in which I spoke about some lovely streets and squares the Barcelona Gothic Quarter enclose.



The buildings around La Plaça del Rei in Barcelona are, probably, the Gothic architectural ensemble which best exemplifies the medieval past of Barcelona. The Palau Reial Major (Royal Palace), and its surrounding buildings, enclose a lovely and peaceful square next to the Barcelona Cathedral where you can try to imagine the look the medieval city of Barcelona had.



The buildings which enclose La Plaça del Rei are:

  • Royal Palace
  • Santa Agata Chapel
  • Lieutenant's Palace
  • Clariana-Padellàs House

Next I would like to share with you some pictures of this charming square and the buildings which enclose it.

Plaça del Rei


Palau Reial in Plaça del ReiThe imposing Palau Reial (Royal Palace) appears at the back of the Plaça del Rei in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. This palace was the residence of the Catalan counts from the 13th to the early 15th centuries and is predominantly Gothic in style


Palau Reial in Plaça del Rei
Staircase of El Palau Reial in La Plaça del Rei


Santa Agata chapel in La Plaça del Rei
Gothic windows of Santa Agata chapel in La Plaça del Rei

Plaça del Rei inside the Barcelona Gothic Quarter
View of la Plaça del Rei from the staircase of El Palau Reial


Santa Agata Chapel in La Plaça del Rei
La Plaça del Rei with Santa Agata Chapel and La Casa Clariana-Padellàs in the background




Palau Reial 

Watchtower of El Palau Reial in Barcelona

Watchtower of El Palau Reial behind the facade of El Palau del Lloctinent

La Plaça del Rei in the Barcelona Gothic Quarter
La Plaça del Rei is one of the most beautiful places in the Barcelona Gothic Quarter

Watchtower of El Palau Reial in La Plaça del Rei
Another view of the watchtower of El Palau Reial in La Plaça del Rei


Saló del Tinell inside El Palau Reial in Barcelona
The Great Hall, or Saló del Tinell, with its round arches, is the most representative and beautiful room inside El Palau Reial

Capella de Santa Agata (Santa Agata Chapel)

Chapel of Santa Agata in La Plaça del ReiOn one side of the Royal Palace, on top of the old Roman wall of Barcelona, you can see the 14th-century royal chapel of Santa Àgata, built in catalan gothic style, which contains the valuable Contestable altarpiece by Jaume Huguet

Ceiling of Santa Agata chapel
Ceiling of Santa Agata chapel


Santa Agata chapel in Barcelona
Gothic stained glass windows of Santa Agata chapel


Inside the gothic chapel of Santa Agata
 Inside Santa Agata chapel



Bell-tower of Santa Agata ChapelAnother view of the bell-tower of Santa Àgata Chapel from another point outside La Plaça del Rei

Palau del Lloctinent (Lieutenant's Palace)


Palau del Lloctinent in La Plaça del ReiDetail of the facade of El Palau del Lloctinent (Lieutenant's Palace), which is currently home to the Archive of the Crown of Aragon

Palau del Lloctinent in La Plaça del Rei
Main facade of the Lieutenant's Palace in Plaça del Rei

Courtyard inside the Lieutenant's Palace

Courtyard inside the Lieutenant's Palace


Casa Clariana-Padellàs (Clariana-Padellàs House)


Casa Clariana-Padellàs in La Plaça del Rei

In front of the Royal Palace, the last building you can see from Plaça del Rei is the Casa Clariana-Padellàs, the home of the city’s history museum, the Museu d’Història de la Ciutat de Barcelona, which contains the archaeological remains of Roman Barcelona

Gothic courtyard inside La Casa Clariana-Padellàs

 Courtyard inside La Casa Clariana-Padellàs, one of the buildings which enclose La Plaça del Rei in the Barcelona Gothic Quarter


Plaça del Rei inside the Barcelona Gothic Quarter
Before leaving this lovely square, one last look of the Watchtower of King Martí through El Palau del Lloctinent (Lieutenant's Palace) on the left and La Casa Clariana-Padellàs on the right

Plaça del Rei inside the Barcelona Gothic Quarter

The Watchtower of El Palau Reial in La Plaça del Rei lit at night during La Mercè

Other fantastic places to visit inside the Barcelona Gothic Quarter are:





If you like gothic architecture, you would be interested in visiting the Pedralbes Monastery.


Also, I would like to give you some useful information about Plaça del Rei:


- Address: Pl. del Rei, s/n
- Phone: 933 151 111
- How to get there:
  • Metro L4, stop Jaume I.
  • Bus 17, 19, 40, 45 and 59.
  • Bus Turístic, stop Barri Gòtic.


Finally, clicking on the next link you will find links to other beautiful places in Barcelona, among them, more nice churches inside the Gothic Quarter.

miércoles, 2 de mayo de 2012

SPAIN: MONASTERIO DEL ESCORIAL

I visited the Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial one of the days I spent in Madrid in 2012 visiting Toledo, Segovia as well as Madrid. It was like a time travel to the Middle Ages. Churches, synagogues, mosques, convents, walls, bridges, towers and this monastery are really well preserved.



Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial
Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial


Since in school I learned the existence of this monastery built in Herrerian style, I always wanted to visit it for its artistic importance rather than for having been the political center of the empire of Philip II or for hosting the Pantheon of the Kings.

San Lorenzo de El Escorial is a historical residence of the King of Spain, in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, about 45 kilometres northwest of the capital, Madrid.

In November 1984, UNESCO declared The Royal Site of San Lorenzo of El Escorial a World Heritage Site. It is an extremely popular tourist attraction, often visited by day-trippers from Madrid.


Facades of San Lorenzo del Escorial




Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial
Main facade of San Lorenzo del Escorial




Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial
Another view of the main facade of San Lorenzo del Escorial


Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial
Overview of San Lorenzo del Escorial



Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial
One of the towers of San Lorenzo del Escorial




Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial
Beside the monastery you can see the town of El Escorial


Courtyard of the kings


Courtyard of the kings of Monastery del Escorial
Courtyard of the kings and the Basilica of San Lorenzo del Escorial



Basilica



Basilica of Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial
Basilica of Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial


Cloister


Cloister of San Lorenzo del Escorial
Cloister of San Lorenzo del Escorial


- How to get there:



  • Bus: 664 and 661 from Moncloa (COACHES HERRANZ).
  • By Car: Madrid-San Lorenzo de El Escorial, A-VI, until Rozas, turning to the M-505, A-VI, turning to the M-600.
  • Train: Madrid-El Escorial. Line C-8 (Atocha Station)

Other cities I visited during this trip were:



Finally, other beautiful places you can visit in Spain are:



- Catalonia

- Basque Country

- Cantabria

- Granada

- Sevilla, Córdoba, Cádiz and Costa de la Luz