Spain is at the very heart of European art and culture. It’s a country where East truly meets West. Its multicultural history, a result of its proximity to Northern Africa, has resulted in a dynamic country with some truly unique architecture.
In Spain, we found ourselves most drawn to its architecture. Whether it was in the city of the countryside, the buildings seen here are always unique. There’s the avant-garde creations of Antoni Gaudí, the charming stone towns in the Catalonian country, the famed white villages of Andalusia and of course, the magnificent cathedrals, from the Sagrada Familia to the Cathedral of Seville. Not forgetting, of course, the Mosque-Cathedral of the Mezquita, a unique artefact of religious change through the centuries.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in Andalucia. Here, we explored the elegant palaces of the Real Alcázar and the Alhambra and its gardens. It was also in Andalucia we saw incredible examples of religious architecture, like the Mezquita in Córdoba. Our favourite location was, however, Ronda, a unique mountain town built into the side of a gorge – a city unlike any other.
The Spanish Empire was one of the most prominent. world powers for many centuries. This economic and military dominance is reflected in much of its architecture. For example, there’s the Plaza de España in Seville, the location of the World’s Fair in 1929. The Alhambra itself is a living version of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The garden’s impressive stature is a testament to the region’s historical importance in both Europe and North Africa.
