Aula ingles
Architecture in Spain: 3 places you shouldn’t miss in this lifetime
If you are passionate about architecture, are going to study architecture (like this Architecture Master in Europe), or you are simply a curious tourist that likes to see beautiful buildings, you will love this trio of extraordinary places made in Spain:
Mosque of Córdoba
The Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba (World Heritage Site since 1984) is the most important monument in the entire Islamic West and one of the most amazing in the world.
The old mosque of Córdoba (Córdoba is a province of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Andalucía in Spanish) was converted in the 13th century into the current Cathedral of Santa María Córdoba. It constitutes the most important monument of Hispano-Muslim architecture, together with the Alhambra (sited in Granada, another province or Andalusia).
The Mosque-Cathedral was the third largest mosque in the world (23,400 square meters), behind those of Casablanca and Mecca. It contains a total of 1,300 columns and 760 arches, spread over 23,400 square meters. Its history summarises the complete evolution of the Umayyad style in Spain, in addition to the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles of Christian construction.
The Cathedral of Córdoba is located inside the Mosque of Córdoba, which makes it a unique monument in the world.
Sacred Family
This unique and majestic basilica, placed in the heart of Barcelona (in the autonomic community of Cataluña), could not be missing from this list. Not in vain it is the most visited church in Europe after Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
Barcelona is an architectural capital of the world. And Antoni Gaudí (the architect of “La Sagrada Familia”) has much of that merit, as he contributed with various masterpieces sited in the city from which this is the most famous, but definitely, you shouldn’t miss the rest.
The first stone of the temple was placed in 1882. Unfortunately, Gaudí could only lay its foundations, as an accident with a tram took his life. However, the great work of the so-called genius of Reus continued, and though is still unfinished, is the current emblem of the city, the most iconic element of its skyline.
There is no modernist basilica so ostentatious and precious on the planet. Visiting it means paying attention to details and diving into Gaudí’s creative universe, his own fascinating, intelligible, and highly fanciful imagination.
Plaza de España (Spain Square)
There is a Plaza de España in Madrid (also beautiful, and recently redesigned), but for now, let’s go back to Andalusia!
Beautiful like a few others in the world, Seville’s Plaza de España is like a hug that the city gives to those who visit it and are amazed. The Plaza de España is a spectacle of light and majesty. Framed in the Parque de María Luisa, it was designed by the Sevillian architect Aníbal González as an emblematic space for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. The result was a unique palace-square in the world. Its proportions are lavish, it has a total area of 50,000 square meters, making it the most imposing square in Spain.
Along the entire perimeter of the square, there is a canal 515 meters long, which can be traveled by boat.
This square was featured (with some virtual enhancements) in the movie Star Wars – Episode II. Check it out!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this list. For sure you will enjoy it even more if you see these places in person. You can even do it while you study Spanish in Spain.
Whenever you do it, let us know your impressions …
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