Barcelona: The Passeig de Grácia and Gaudí

It could be considered Passeig de Grácia, that main artery that crosses the golden heart of the Ciudad Condal like a spearhead, until it ends at the emblematic Plaza de Cataluña and the surroundings of that other artistic and cultural landmark, which is the Orfeó Catalá, being able to admire, as immortal icons of that contestative and pro-European culture, called 'Reinexança', two emblematic buildings by Gaudí - La Pedrera and Casa Batlló - and that no less opportunistic, interesting and genuinely symbolic Casa Ametller, the work of a notable architect - Josep Puich i Cadafalch-that some sources, perhaps little or nothing objective, in reality, tend to consider as a rival of Gaudí.

Whether this is true or not - and I think that at this point there is not much to import, unless it is considered a merely anecdotal detail, because although the Batlló and Ametller houses are attached to each other, both architects always respected the relevance of the question and in fact, what many of those thousands of tourists ignore that regardless of the season, visit Barcelona regularly, is that still, if they notice some sections of the sidewalks they walk through, letting themselves go, who knows if absorbed by the uniqueness and magnificence of the buildings or by the impetuous appeal of the shops of Armani, Burberry or Löewe - in front of whose shop windows, one would wish to have the wonderful lamp of Aladdin so that the genius who dwells inside would grant him at least one of the three wishes that can be claimed by tradition - were devised by Antoni Gaudí.

It is true, as well, that they are not the originals, but an exact replica of those, as are the benches and lampposts, which each certain meters give the ride a very peculiar charm, almost unique in its fortunately, far from the cold artificiality of their modern counterparts.

In these elements, there is no shortage of the universal symbols with which Mother Nature usually works in all her creations. Symbols, obviously, to which Gaudí went in each and every one of his wonderful creations, not only as an insurmountable example to follow or at least to imitate, but also, after all, as a very particular stamp.

In such a way, that between the perfection of the hexagons or cells of hives, we see that universal symbol, the spiral, known since the dawn of humanity, as shown by the numerous petroglyphs that represent it not only in Spain, but also in numerous countries and latitudes and even present even in the last corners of that galaxy known as the Candil or the Lantern by the ancient navigators, which is the Milky Way.

The undulation of some stretches of sidewalk, not only reminds us of those vital signs or that rhythm of a pulsating heart, but it also induces us to reflect on a question that is difficult to solve even for modern Science, such as perpetual movement, until point that, letting ourselves be carried away by the suggestion -or if you prefer, by the reverie- you can get to have the sensation of walking on the waves of the sea.

The benches, designed in some cases also as flowerpots, carry a similar suggestion, whose inclinations or curvatures, on either side, not only reminds us again of the wave motion of the waves, but also brings us back to one of the archetypes Ancestral that more fascination has exercised in the mind of man since the dawn of time: the serpent.

Or if you prefer, that unconscious, disguised as a 'monster' in dreams, as C.G. Jung, which must be faced and overcome -in many medieval churches, was represented as a knight fighting a snake, a dragon and even a lion- which prevents us, in his way, from the suffering of a psychic dysfunction that It can end in neurosis.

Psychologies aside, you could say that, exercise such designs differently in each, the truth, or at least, the foreseeable thing, is that also walking or interacting with them, you have the feeling that the own shadow - physics, such which, far from any other dark aspect of the personality, advances, nevertheless, between two parallel worlds, as, possibly, it would have been the intention of Gaudí at the time of making us consider his extraordinary creations.

designed by: @txatxy

@tximeleta