The National Museum of Catalunyan Art

    Barcelona, like New York City, is a fascinating place though I wouldn't want to live there... too much traffic, too noisy and way too expensive for us poor folks. Still, it's about an hour-long train ride from Reus and a nice place to wander around.
    I was in Barcelona a few days ago and a friend took me to the National Museum of Catalunyan Art... it's not an easy place to get to when you're walking on a pair of bad legs because the parking areas are a little far away but it's well worth the hike. This part of Spain, Catalunya, has never really considered itself part of the country and that sense of separateness is reflected in its artistic traditions, which are often radically different from traditional Spanish art. Gaudi's architecture is one example of just how radically different that art is, for example. Catalunya has produced an entire battalion of remarkable painters over the years and many of them are represented in the museum. The most remarkable exhibit in the museum, however, doesn't feature well-known artists such as Fortuny... it's a giant exhibit of frescoes dating from the 11th Century that were "liberated" from ancient Catalunyan churches and installed in the museum. The frescoes have been left just as they were when they were in the churches so there are parts of them that have worn away over time... you might think that would diminish their impact but it really doesn't. Instead, it gives you a real sense of just how old they are.
    The museum is housed in a palace that was built for the 1928 Barcelona world exhibition and it sits above the city and gives you a really wonderful view of it. Inside, the palace is decorated with some really wonderful ceiling frescoes that reminded me of Firenze.