Santa Caterina Market by Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue. Image Courtesy of Miralles Tagliabue EMBT
In Barcelona, the cradle of contemporary urbanism, the landscape is enriched with endless layers of history. Since its first settlers, Roman colonists, generation after generation built here, one on top of another.
Romans, Visigoths and a brief Islamic period are still embedded within the city’s prettiest streets. These old architectural stories are delightfully present nowadays. At first glimpse, the traveler can spot a 14th century stone cathedral coexisting with a computer-generated undulating structure – in harmony. Not many cities manage temporary tension as good as Barcelona.