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Spain is situated in
south western Europe. It occupies the
Iberian Peninsula and is bathed by the
Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and the Cantabrian Sea. It also
includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in
the Atlantic and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Its total surface area
is 504,788 sq. kms. Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th
centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent
failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the
country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and
political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II, but
suffered through a devastating Civil War (1936-39). In the second half of
the 20th century, it has played a catch-up role in the western
international community. Continuing concerns are large-scale unemployment
and the Basque separatist movement.
The diversity and contrast that go to mould the character of Spain are
likewise in evidence in its cities. Celts, Iberians, Phoenicians and, at a
later date, the Greco-Roman civilisation laid the first cornerstones of
urban settlements which, to this day, bear the marks of their passage
through time.
During the Middle Ages, Arabic, Jewish and Christian cultures, singly and
through a process of mutual cross-influence, gave rise to the birth of
cities which have come to house an historical-artistic heritage of
incalculable proportions.
Tradition alone does not suffice. Modernity too is essential, and this was
something certain Spanish monarchs –Charles III for one– managed to
successfully apply during their reigns in order to beautify townscapes,
like that of Madrid, with parks and landmark monuments, thereby instilling
the city with a spirit of renewal. It was this element of urban renewal
that became even more evident at a later date, in the form of townplans
designed to extend and enlarge the leading cities, and the construction of
graceful buildings which, in keeping with the shifts and changes in
architectural tastes, have helped shape the identity of Spain’s cities
over the last two hundred years.
This contrast is also to be seen in the individual heartbeat of Spain’s
cities, where surroundings, climate and daily lifestyles harmonise to lend
each its own typical character and atmosphere. Some reveal to us a
testimony to a glorious past and a monumental heritage; others, an
exuberance of light and colour; and others still, the mysteries of
wreathing morning mists and a horizon mantled in eternal green. Whether
cosmopolitan or provincial, locked in time or flourishing and go-ahead,
they are fascinating in the wide spectrum of realities and possibilities
that they hold out to all who visit them and enjoy their warm hospitality.
The country’s two largest cities, Madrid and
Barcelona, are further evidence of this diversity. Madrid is
open and endearing. Bustling, unpretentious, its old quarter is a winding
maze of simple harmony, surrounded by elegant civic buildings, parks and
boulevards, landmarks of the modern city. A byword in art thanks to its
galleries and museums, it enjoys a well-earned reputation as being an
open-hearted city where all newcomers can be sure of finding a niche and a
warm welcome, a city where the most disparate trends and attitudes somehow
manage to co-exist. Barcelona is the Mediterranean metropolis par
excellence and yet at the same time open to all cultural influences
flowing in from beyond the Pyrenees. Its harbour and commerce have served
to foster the city’s prosperity over hundreds of years, while its
well-ordered and symmetrical town grid has given us quarters of unrivalled
beauty, such as the Gothic Quarter, Las Ramblas and the modernist Paseo de
Gracia. Site of the 1992 Olympics, Barcelona underwent a thorough
facelift, with the result that it is today an elegant and harmonious city,
waiting to be enjoyed to the maximum.
(Information courtesy of
Turespana)
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