Gràcia
Gràcia (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈɡɾasiə]), meaning "grace" (in English), is a district of the Mediterranean city of Barcelona, in the northeastern autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain.
A vibrant and diverse enclave of Catalan life, Gràcia was an independent municipality for centuries before being formally annexed by Barcelona in 1897, as a part of the city's expansions.
Historically, many of the well-known streets and lanes of today's Gràcia were mere country roads linking the region to larger urban areas through the plain of Barcelona; Passeig de Gràcia, one such historic route, is now home to many international fashion stores, as well as restaurants, specialty shops and hotels, and has been described as "Barcelona's version" of the Parisian Champs-Élysées.
[2] Between 1801 and 1850, the population of Barcelona increased over 50%, growing from nearly 115,000 to roughly 187,000 citizens; however, this rapid growth and rise in industrialisation created a number of unforeseen problems,[3] including overcrowded living quarters, densely-crowded streets and poor public infrastructure.
These issues all contributed to squalid conditions and general poverty, which created the breeding grounds for rampant disease, something which particularly affected the city's lower and working classes.
In 1855, the Ministry of Development, under the authority of the federal government in Spain at the time, commissioned Ildefons Cerdà, a Catalan urban planner, to design the new district.
A subsequent project competition was held, but Cerdà's entry lost to one supported by the local city council, that of Antoni Rovira i Trias, another Catalan urban planner.
Despite losing the contest, Cerdà's plan (which was heavily criticised at the time by his contemporaries as being overtly socialist) weathered the controversy and became the basis of the Eixample district, as it retained the support of the central Spanish government.
One of the hippest, most cosmopolitan areas in the city, Gràcia's intimate, close-packed streets and predominately low-rise, Mediterranean architecture give it a distinct feel.
Travellers account for Gracia's good shopping opportunities (e.g. on Carrer de Verdi) and its authentic atmosphere, based on its quiet placas and Catalan cuisine.
[6] Nightlife in Gràcia is dominated by Spanish café culture, with an abundance of small bars and restaurants that host late-night revelry and long conversations.
For transportation, Gràcia is served by the L3 (Green) and L4 (Yellow) lines of the Barcelona metro, with stops at Penitents, Vallcarca, Lesseps, and Fontana on the L3, and Joanic and Verdaguer on the L4.
At night, however, the environment transforms, and although the narrow streets are quiet and peaceful, bars often host talented jazz singers, and groups of teenagers gather in the squares.
Already blooming were carob and olive trees, and based on the weather conditions, Guadí's design included Mediterranean plants that would not require considerable water to thrive.
For instance, Ozzy's art, appearing in many parts of Barcelona, is marked by bright poster designs, while the artist C215 produces detailed stencilled works.
Gràcia's residents compete for the crown of best street or square, selecting distinct themes and extensively decorating in Spanish carnival style, and organised by a number of local associations.
The modern Catalan castell is similar to its original design: the pinya is a large ring at the bottom of the structure that supports the human weight, and each level consists of a specific number of people.
On "Carrer de les Carolines", between Plaça Lesseps and Fontana, lies Casa Vicens, Gaudí's first major work of architecture and a staple in his canon of modernist design.
[14]Casa Fuster, a fabled, grand modernist-style hotel that lies at the edge of Gràcia's southern (water) end on the Plaça de Nicolás Salmerón.
The eponymous protagonist of the short story "María dos Prazeres" by Gabriel García Márquez lives in an apartment in the neighbourhood of Gràcia in the years of Francoist Spain.
