Phot-o' the Day: Arc de Triomf; Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona has got an Arc de Triomphe, too. It shares some superficial similarities to the most famous of the world's Arc de Triomphes, that being the one on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. This one is smaller (how much smaller, I do not know, as I did not bring a tape measure). It is red brick. And even though it is named "Arch of Triumph," it is not a war memorial.

Of course it would not be. Spain has not had much luck in wars for almost 500 years now.

(Ba-da dum)

It was built to be the entrance gate for the 1888 world's fair being held in Barcelona. In the Catalan language, it is the Arc de Triomf, which also is the name of the nearby Metro stop. In Spanish, it is the Arco de Triunfo. (Linguistic primer here: Catalan is not a "dialect" of Spanish. It is its own language. It seems to fit precisely halfway between Spanish and French, which makes sense given the geographic locale of Catalonia. Sometimes the Catalan word or phrase looks more Spanish; sometimes it looks more French. "Arc de Triomf" is an instance where the Catalan looks more like the French.)

Visited September 2015.

Holy Week Phot-o' the Day; the Scourging of Christ; Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

Today's Holy Week Phot-o' the Day takes us to the unfinished Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, Spain. Much like the gothic cathedrals of pre-Renaissance Europe, Sagrada Familia has been under construction for over 100 years and it's still unfinished. One significant reason is the huge amount of decorative artwork throughout the structure, interior and exterior. It is impossible to absorb all of it. There has so many religiously-significant scenes depicted in the art throughout Sagrada Familia.

For example: this. This is the scourging of Christ. An ordinary column does double duty as the pillar to which Jesus is tied to receive the 40 lashes as his "punishment" from Pilate. Just one of the thousands pieces of religious art found here.

Visited September 2015.