Dali Museum (Cultural Site 1)

About an hour north of Barcelona you will find the small windy town of Figueres where the famous artist Salvador Dali lived.  Upon entering the town you can feel how small it is and it seems that everybody knows everyone else living in the town.  Perhaps this strange yet familiar feeling is what accounted for Dali's uniqueness in everything he did.  Dali is known for his surrealist artwork that evokes thoughts people have never encountered and unlocks parts of our brains that have never been used.  Although Dali seemed eccentric and full of happiness, his life was full of hardship.  Before Salvador Dali's birth his parents had a son before him who was named Salvador Dali as well.  After the first born's death, the parents conceived again and named the boy Salvador Dali after their first child, this was the child who would grow to be a tortured yet brilliant artist.  It's no secret that being named after his dead brother had a great effect on Dali's psyche.  He felt unwanted and unloved because his parents named him after the son they lost, it was like Dali was the replacement.  Although, his life was full of pain it gave him the inspiration and imagination to create the many masterpieces Dali has.

The Dali museum in Figueres houses some of Dali's most famous works which the public can view.  My experience there was amazing and I would highly recommend it to those who are willing to make the short trip to Figueres.  I do enjoy art but I have not been to many museums, but the Dali museum was one of my best experiences at a museum.  The museum has many different floors containing different pieces of Dali.  Upon entering the museum the floors and sections where the paintings reside are all numbered so that you can follow a path leading you throughout the entire museum.  One of the most interesting pieces is Dali's reincarnation of May West.  Of course there was a queue you had to stand in before viewing the piece but it was well worth it.  Using a large pair of lips that look like a sofa, two abstract paintings for the eyes, a nose, and lots of blond hair, Dali allows you to gaze through a distorted lens that ties all these random things together into a beautiful surreal piece of art that was modeled after the celebrity May West.

The Dali museum located in the town of Figueres was a very interesting place to visit and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to have a cultural experience while in Spain.  Before visiting the museum I only knew a few things about Dali and his life, but after the visit I was extremely informed on his lifestyle, upbringing, and genre of art he created.

Medieval Barcelona (El Born)

The district of El Born, which is also known as the medieval quarter of Barcelona, is a special part of the city to those who live there and to those who come to visit.  Dating back to the 13th-15th centuries, El Born was a well to do quarter that was close to the sea.  El Born housed some of the most wealthy and prestigious figures of Barcelona, particularly Carrer Montcada.  The residences of these people had large atriums which were surrounded by their living quarters.  Today El Born is identified by the various structures and cultural sites located within it.  The Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar and the Picasso Museum are among the most visited sites in El Born.  Although not to be overlooked, the mass grave of Catalan soliders who lost their lives in the War of Spanish Succession stands tall next to the Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar, and the flame atop the monument burns throughout the day and through rain and sunshine.  The War of Spanish Succession marked an important time in Barcelona's history because of the aftermath that was caused by the battle.  The two fighting sides of the war were the Bourbon monarch Phillip V and the Hapsburg Charles, who the Catalans supported although their efforts were crushed by the Bourbon.  After the fighting ceased Phillip V implemented various changes to Barcelona which created unrest. One-third of the city was destroyed and left many homeless so Phillip V built Barceloneta as a grid design full of identical structures to house those left homeless.  Phillip V also built La Ciutadella, also known as the star fort, which many people despised.  Probably the most intense change that was implemented was the denationalization of Catalonia.  Phillip V sought to unify Spain by ruling from Madrid and forcing the people of Spain to only speak Spanish.  The monarch created the Decreto de Nuevo Planta (New Plan Decrees) which set the foundation for the political and economic changes that would come about.  Conclusively, Phillip V's victory of the War of Spanish Succession had an everlasting impact on Spain which can still be seen today.