| Gothic architecture abounds wherever you roam in old Barcelona and in the area around Passeig Colom you taste the medieval flavour of Catalan Gothic at its strongest. Unusually understated in many respects it is no less impressive for that and seems to me to owe more to Italian than Spanish influence. But you don't get the same hushed reverence as you might find in churches in Florence or Venice - the Catalonians are not great ones for quiet respect and their monuments benefit from a lively, bustling air. |