Barcelona The Great Enchantress

By Robert Hughes

Beginning with a vivid description of his wedding in the splendid medieval ceremonial chamber in Barcelona's city hall, Hughes launches into a lively account of the history, art, and architecture of the storied city. He tells of architectural treasures abounding in 14th-century Barcelona, establishing it as one of Europe's great Gothic cities, while Madrid was hardly more than a cluster of huts. The city spawned such great artists as Antoni Gaudi, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, and Pablo Casals. Hughes's deep knowledge of the city is evident, but it's his personal reflections of what Barcelona, its people, and its storied history and culture have meant to him over the decades that sets Barcelona the Great Enchantress apart from all others' books.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Release date: Jun 15, 2011
• ISBN: 9781426209130

Reviews for Barcelona The Great Enchantress

[alexlubertozz-893592 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was the book I wished his earlier history, Barcelona, had been. More personal and engaging, reminds me of all the things I love about Barcelona and all the reasons I want to return again and again.

[edwinbcn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Barcelona the great enchantress is often described as a condensed version of Barcelona, also by Robert Hughes, whereas it would probably be better described as a more intimate, personal description, highlighting the personal interest of its author. At various moments, Hughes describes his personal relation to the city of Barcelona, as relationship of more than 40 years of attraction. Hence, Barcelona the great enchantress.In this short work, Hughes manages to describe all that is important to know about Barcelona, as if delving into the essence of this magnificent city. The focus is on architecture, as it enables the author to draw an uninterrupted line from the Roman origins, the Middle Ages up to the Modern period, exemplified by the work by Antoni Gaudi.The history of Catalonia, and Barcelona, is firmly rooted in the Gothic. Hughes describes which features of Gothic architecture in Barcelona are unique, and describes the gothic sites which form the heart of Catalan identity namely the Council of Hundred (Conseil de Cent and the Llotja, the earliest business exchange in Barcelona. While the Cathedral in Barcelona is admired for its endearing garden and the custom of holding geese in the cloister, Hughes writes that the Santa Maria del Mar, in all its austerity, is his favourite Gothic church, in Barcelona, not far from the Picasso museum.For all its brevity, Barcelona the great enchantress describes all major sights in the city, the fresh market, the Boqueria on the Ramblas, not far from the Opera and the Placa Real. Gaudi is described as one of the main proponents of the Modernista period, and the expansion of Barcelona beyond its old city perimeter into the development of the Eixempla.As one would read a beloved novel more than once, thus, one can return to Barcelona, by reading different books about the city. Barcelona the great enchantress should definitely not be omitted.