Published: July 9, 2017

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Arc de Triomf, Ciutadella park, and Sagrada Familia

Photos of Barcelona, including some representative monuments of the city.

Barcelona's Arc de Triomf

This triumphal arch was built for the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition.

Detail of Barcelona's Arc de Triomf

Barcelona’s Arc de Triomf

Ciutadella Park

Monumental Waterfall in Ciutadella Park

Castle of the Three Dragons

The "Castell dels Tres Dragons" in Ciutadella Park.

Detail of the Monumental Cascade's façade in Ciutadella Park

The statue on top of the monument is known as "Quadriga de l’Aurora," and was created by Rossend Nobas, some of whose sculptures can also be found at the National Art Museum of Catalonia. The Venus façade was made by Francesc Pagès i Serratosa.

Detail of the Monumental Cascade

In this photo you can see in more detail the horses in the Quadriga de l’Aurora, as well as the ram head in the central shaft. You can also see the Venus façade and the golden birds around the arc, which look like herons, standing on poles with the 4 stripes of Catalonia’s Senyera flag on one side, and a Templar-style cross on the other.

Griffin and fountain of the Monumental Cascade in Ciutadella Park

Statues of the Monumental Cascade

On the left, a work entitled "Amphitrite," portraying the goddess of the sea, and wife of Poseidon. On the top right, "The Birth of Venus."

Submerged tree in the pond at Ciutadella Park

East tower of the Castle of the Three Dragons

Birds and trees in the pond at Ciutadella Park

Southwest path of the Ciutadella Park

On the left, the castle of the Three Dragons. In the center you can see the Tibidabo church, or Expiatory Temple of the Sacred Heart, on the mountain summit.

Detail of the southwest façade of the Sagrada Familia

The façade of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia, a work of Antoni Gaudí still under construction, oriented towards the homonymous square in Sardenya street, represents the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Between the statues, the capitals of the columns alternate between the letters A and O, alpha and omega, which usually accompany Christograms, such as the one in the next photo of the same façade.

Façade of the passion, death and resurrection of the Sagrada Familia

Detail of the façade of the passion, death and resurrection of the Sagrada Familia. The symbol before and after the name Jesus seems to correspond to the Christogram that is formed by merging the Greek initials of ??s??? ???st?? (Jesus Christ).

Detail of the towers of the southwest façade of the Sagrada Familia

Bell towers of the façade of the passion, death and resurrection of the Sagrada Familia.

Monumental façade of the birth of Jesus

In the lower part of the religious scenes you can see a reptile sculpture resembling an iguana or salamander, a character Gaudí also featured in the main stairs of Park Güell, through the sculpture known as "el Drac," the dragon.

Detail of the apse of the Sagrada Familia

Apse windows of the Sagrada Familia flanked by snakes, instead of the traditional gargoyles seen in many cathedrals.

Apse of the Sagrada Familia

In this section of the apse you can also see multiple iguanas or salamanders, which, just as the snakes in the previous photo, seem to be the equivalent of Gothic gargoyles in this Art Nouveau work, fulfilling a practical function as well, since they are part of drain pipes that organically blend with the rest of the structure.

Sagrada Familia façade as seen from Gaudí square

Detail of the central scene of the birth of Jesus

Northeast façade of the Sagrada Familia.

The Sagrada Familia from Gaudí square

In this older photo from 2014 you can see the construction works on the top right corner, corresponding to the apse of the Sagrada Familia. In the top center part of the photo, below the white winged character, another Christogram can be seen, or monogram JHS, sometimes interchangeably written IHS, as in the coat of arms of the Jesuit order.