Metal Adornment at Building Entrance in Eixample Quarter, Barcelona

Walking along Eixample streets it is not rare to find curious metal adornments like this, guarding the entrance of modernist houses. I am not sure about the real purpose of such figures but it is obvious it wasn't purely aesthetical. One of my theories is that between the door and this mythological creature, you could easily slide a wooden board to protect the house against flooding. This was usual practice in Barcelona not so long ago. Nevertheless I am not sure about this and maybe some of you may think of another use.

Camiseria Xanco at Rambla, 78 - Selling Shirts Since 1820

In 1820 Antoni Cotchet i Nin founded old Casa Cotchet which he left to his former employers Josep Xancó i Farreras and Joan Bel that got in charge. Xancò who came from a wealthy family in Caldes de Malavella, Girona eventually took over the shop after Joan Bel resigned in 1921. In the 40s, Josep Xancó died, and the shop was inherited by his daughter Herminia Xancó and subsequently by her son Tristan Xancó Kussrrowc, who is in charge at present and has expanded the business. This is a sidewalk metal plaque in front of the store in which the city hall celebrated the 173rd anniversary of this unique historical shop in Barcelona. It reads "Camiseria Xancó 1820 - 1993 to all those years serving the city". Soon I will show you the place in detail.

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Detail of Columbus Monument, Portal de la Pau, Barcelona

Today, a close look on the column and pedestal of the Christopher Columbus monument at the end of Las Ramblas. Did you know that inside this column there is a lift, a very narrow one, that takes visitors to the top? This detail in the image which looks like a cigar ring to me can be appreciated here but if you really want to feel the place click and drag inside the embedded Google street view map of the roundabout where the monument is, facing Barcelona harbor. To get some information and take a look at the bronze lions at the base, go here.

Street view image

Lion Head Door Knocker

This is a detail of a lion head door knocker on a building located at carrer de la Mercé 14, a small street paralel to La Mercé church, home of the Virgen de la Mercè, patron saint of Barcelona. To be more specific the knocker is located on the very corner of such street and carrer Boltres. According to historical records Boltres was a family that owned properties in the area in the XIV century. Check the place on my Google Map.

Twisted Shapes: An Approach to Rebecca Horn's Sculpture

This metallic cubic sculpture was made by the artist Rebecca Horn and it is a distinctive feature of La Barceloneta beach next to the quarter by the same name. Before showing my first photograph about this work I had seen it portrayed in a thousand ways. If you try to capture it as is, early or late during the day, when there is no one, it may look rather dull but the presence of people add up to the structure a little bit. It occurred to me that this man in that strange pose and the arched building maintained some awkward parallelism. On second thought now, I think that his fortune might be as twisted as the building itself, I just wish I was in a mistake. I remember someone said here that sometimes we tag people with our pictures without even knowing what their real conditions are. That is absolutely true.

ou get a better idea in this Google Earth Map View of La Barceloneta Quarter and the tiny metallic sculpture by the beach.

Sagrada Familia: The Passion Façade Gates

The portico of the Passion Façade at the Sagrada Família is an austere stage where stone, light and shadow narrate the final hours of Christ. Its angular volumes, hard lines and sharp edges deliberately contrast with the softness of the Nativity side, underlining the pain and drama of the scene.

Work on this part of the temple began in 1954, and the sculptures by Josep Maria Subirachs push Gaudí’s language toward a modern, almost cubist severity that feels strikingly contemporary when compared with the earlier, exuberant carvings of the Nativity Façade. As a modest sample of all that can be discovered here, this engraved metal gate is covered with raised letters and symbols, including a passage from Matthew 26:39, so visitors literally “read” the Gospel as they pass through the portal.