Roman Barcino

The first field study we participated in was a trip to the old Roman city which was once called Barcino.  Currently the ancient city is surrounded by shops, cafes, and Barcelona's famous La Catedral; but it once was a bustling city square full of families, merchants, and soliders all thriving as a part of the Roman Empire.  Emperor Augustus founded the city in 15 b.c. and it started as a peaceful area with a prime location near the ocean where ships could come and go bringing imports and exports.  At first the colony was built and settled by soldiers of legions, but with the construction of the Via Augusta the colony grew commercially and economically, and gained immunity from imperial taxation.  The Roman city was set up like a military camp with the Forum acting as the central meeting place of the city where the two main roads connected all others.  The north-south Cardus Maximus and the east-west Decumanus Maximus were the names of the main streets that connected all the alleyways and the people of the city could follow these two roads in and out of the city.  No civilization can thrive without water and the Romans knew this all too well, so they constructed an aqueduct which funneled water into the city.



Today when you walk around the ancient Roman city you can still see the old foundation that the Romans built.  The walls of a building look like sedimentary rocks where there are separate visible layers of different types of stone, the oldest being on the bottom.  When we visited the ancient city all I could think about was how life must have been in these ancient times.  I imagined walking in the forum and seeing all the people going about their daily business.  What astounded me the most was thinking about how these structures were built only by hand.  The structures are made of massive stones and there was no machinery to cut and shape the stones into the cubes that were necessary for building walls and aqueducts.  It was truly amazing.  The most interesting aspect of our visit to the Roman town was the remains of the Temple of Augustus.  The temple was built as a worship place for Emperor Augustus and today there are still three massive pillars standing on the original foundation they were layed.  When we walked into the room where these pillars stood there was a peaceful quiet because no one was talking but everyone was thinking and admiring the sheer beauty and size of these ancient stones.  Today you can still see the remains of the aqueduct the Romans built to bring water into the ancient city.  Although it is only a sliver of what the original aqueduct was you can still admire the craftsmanship and intellect of the Romans.  These people were extremely intelligent, diligent, hard workers that strove to flourish in all aspects of their lives, and this is the reason why the Roman Empire stood strong for hundreds of years.

History of the Sant Gervasi Neighborhood

The Sant Gervasi Neighborhood

Sarrià-Sant Gervasi is one of the largest neighborhoods within the city of Barcelona and is located in the north-west of the city.  Sarrià-Sant Gervasi is encompassed by Les Corts, Gràcia, and Eixample.  The first written document about this neighborhood was found from the year 987 which dates Sant Gervasi back to the Roman colonies.  Although constant construction and addition of taller and more modern buildings has increased, Sant Gervasi still maintains its small village atmosphere with its narrow streets and old houses.  The Collserola mountain is part of the neighborhood and provides a popular yet unique place to hike and enjoy the beauty of Barcelona.  Atop the mountain stands the telecommunications tower Torre de Collserol, as well as the Catholic church Temple de Sagrat Cor, and most uniquely the amusement park where people of all ages can enjoy themselves. The church atop Tibidabo was designed by Enric Sagnier and took 60 years to construct.  On top of the church is a sculpture of the Sacred Heart by Josep Miret Llopart.  The amusement park on the mountain is the oldest in Barcelona and still retains some of its original attractions which date back to the turn of the twentieth century.  Tibidabo was also featured in Woody Allen's film Vicky Cristina Barcelona.  The origin of the name "Tibidabo" derives from the Bible when Satan tempts Jesus atop a high mountain, "All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them."  Therefore the name of Tibidabo refers to the popular tradition that the mountain is indeed in itself a very high mountain.

Not only is the district enriched with history but it is also enriched in people and wealth.  The Sant Gervasi neighborhood is one of the wealthiest in Barcelona and is full of private schools, clinics, and embassy villas. The neighborhood also has a number of public parks that one can stroll through on a lazy Sunday afternoon while bathing in the warm Mediterranean sun.  The most famous of these parks is Parc Güell designed by Antoni Gaudí.  When one visits Parc Güell one obtains the feeling of something monumental.  Once you cross the threshold into the park you almost enter a different world, one that was intelligently and uniquely designed by the genius Gaudí.  The dirt pathways lead you to an open area where a panoramic view of Barcelona displays the sheer beauty and size of the city.  The park is filled with Gaudí's works of mosaics and stone structures, the most famous is the long bench in the form of a sea serpent.  When designing the curvature of the bench Gaudí used the shape of the buttocks of a naked woman left in wet clay.  Another famous structure in the park is the mosaic lizard in the main courtyard.  This piece of art greatly depicts the style of Gaudí's mosaic work, although to many people's dismay the lizard was vandalized in 2007 but was soon restored to its original condition.