Bellesguard: Gaudí on a Royal Ruin
Catalonia, Spain
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Torre Bellesguard
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250
XP
+100 Spain
= 350 total
1 day
Bellesguard: Gaudí on a Royal Ruin
250 + 100 XP
Martin the Humane, the last king of the house of Barcelona, had a residence on this hill under Collserola. By 1900 all that was left was some wall and two half-ruined towers — and Gaudí, commissioned to build the Casa Figueras here, incorporated them into the new house. Bellesguard belongs to his neo-Gothic period, and it is the clearest surviving statement of what he thought about Gothic: he had studied Catalan, Balearic, Roussillon, Leonese and Castilian Gothic closely and concluded it was an imperfect style, only half solved. This building is his attempt to finish the job.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Find the medieval wall and the two ruined towers that Gaudí built the house around
2
of 5
Work out what Gaudí thought was wrong with Gothic and how the building argues the point
3
of 5
Go up onto the roof terrace for the view over Barcelona
4
of 5
Find Domingo Sugrañes's tiled benches at the entrance and Joan Rubió's viaduct on the estate
5
of 5
Work out who Martin the Humane was and why the end of his line mattered to Catalonia
Find the medieval wall and the two ruined towers that Gaudí built the house around
Work out what Gaudí thought was wrong with Gothic and how the building argues the point
Go up onto the roof terrace for the view over Barcelona
Find Domingo Sugrañes's tiled benches at the entrance and Joan Rubió's viaduct on the estate
Work out who Martin the Humane was and why the end of his line mattered to Catalonia
Before you go
Opening days are limited and tickets are timed — check before going.
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About Catalonia
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
250 XP
Spain country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
350 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in Spain.
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