a weekend walk in barcelona32, exploring montjuic3

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/sandamichaela-1941773-walk-barcelona32/

The Montjuïc is a hill located near the center of Barcelona. It features a large number of attractions including the Spanish Village, the Magic Fountain and MNAC, one of the city's most important museums.Today the Montjuïc is a mostly recreational area with a large number of sights and attractions, most of them originating from two major events that took place here: the 1929 International Exhibition and the 1992 Olympics

Fountains at Montjuic: Passeig de Les Cascades(there are escalators the whole way up if you can't manage the many stairs)

Passeig de Les Cascades,

recently restored staircases

adorned with beautiful

fountains and blue tiles hidden

under the shadow of the trees

The Laribal gardens (Jardins de Laribal) is one of the gems. They are not very well known due to a slightly hidden location draped down the side of a steep slope near the Olympic Stadium and the Miro Foundation.

The Laribal gardens were redesigned by a French designer, J.C.N. Forestier, who modernized the layout and added characteristic elements of Arabian gardens like ceramic tiles, ornamental water fountains and pools, plants and trees, and flowers in pots by the railings and on the walls. And olive trees which can be seen by the steps.

Jardins de Laribal Escales del Generalife

To link the Laribel Gardens with the gardens around the Teatre Grec, Forestier designed a stairway with water by the handrails, small pools with fountains in the breaks of the stairway, and benches where you can rest and enjoy the open air and the soothing sound of the water flowing.

Water is the essence of this garden, with its large and small ponds.

Part of the gardens belonged to the estate of the well known lawyer, Josep Laribal, who gave the gardens their name. In 1908 after Laribal's death, the Barcelona city council acquired the gardens and founded the Escola de Bosc of Montjuïc, a childrens school, which is still in operation.

Near the rose garden, there is a glazed ceramic fountain influenced by the sea, crowned by a jet, which was the work of Llorenç Artigas.

The historically-important Laribal

Gardens are sculpted by

terraces, pathways, small squares,

ponds and lush, established plant life. A series of

terraces are linked by paths and

steeply sloped shortcuts, with

stretches of differently designed

stairways interspersed.

"Repòs" (1925) a life-sized female nude made of stone situated

in a small square close

to the entrance next

to the Joan Miró

Foundation.

The "Noia de la trena" (1928) by Joseph Viladomar is a female nude, made of bronze, which represents a young girl plaiting her hair. It is in a small shaded square, close to the stairway that links to other areas of the gardens.

La Noia de la trena (Chica de la trenza), 1928 by Josep Viladomat

The sculptures are notable in these gardens, both for their quality and their beauty. The Art Deco style marble female nude, "Estival" (1929) by Jaume Otero, dominates the rose garden.

EstivalJaume Otero, 1929

The water from the Font del Gat ("Fountain of the Cat") pours from a feline head, sculpted by Joan Antoni Homs in 1918, when the Laribal Gardens were being finished. This fountain is one of many that flowed in Barcelona at the time and is situated in a place in the city that was very popular at the end of the nineteenth century.

The fountain was so popular that the journalist and playwright Joan Amich wrote a song about it: "La Marieta de l'ull viu" that is still sung today and includes the verse: "Baixant de la font del Gat, / una noia, una noia, / baixant de la font del Gat / una noia amb un soldat..." ("Coming down from the cat Fountain / a girl, a girl / Coming down from the cat Fountain / a girl with a soldier...").

Near the Font del Gat

fountain, there's a

noucentista building

designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch

which used to be a

restaurant, but now is home to

the Royal Spanish Tennis

Federation.

This place is slightly hidden by dense plants surrounding it and can

be accessed through the stairs overlooking the

Passeig de Santa Madrona.

The sculpture garden is next to the by Miró Foundation and is free to visit. See works by Miró and other artists. It is a lovely place to relax in the summer.

In 1990 the Sculptures' Garden was opened next to the Miró Foundation building, an area surrounded by vegetation where works by Catalan artists, including Miró himself, are exhibited

Tom Carr Agulla, 1988-1990

La Veremadora, (1927) Pau Gargallo, als Jardins de Miramar

La Veremadora, (1927)

Pau Gargallo, Jardins de Miramar

Fertilitat, (1928)

Josep Clarà Jardins de Miramar

Marinada, (Dansarina)

by Antoni Alsina Pg. de Santa

Madrona, Museu Arqueològic

Les flors, Josep Llimona, 1927 Pl. Marquès de la Foronda, Montjuïc

Les flors, Josep Llimona, 1927 Pl. Marquès de la Foronda, Montjuïc

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Sedent, Josep Llimona, 1927 Pl. Marquès de la Foronda, Montjuïc

Text and pictures: Internet

Copyrights of the photos belong to each photographer

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanu

www.slideshare.net/michaelasanda

Sound: Isaac Albéniz - Capricho Catalán (T. Kosterina)