Antoni Gaudí's Barcelona - Palau Güell

GAUDÍ'S BARCELONA - A PERSONAL TOUR PART 2 At age 26 Antoni Gaudí met Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi, a wealthy Catalan industrialist, politician and patron of the arts. That meeting would have an influence on Gaudí's career that extended for many years and commissions from Güell ultimately gave rise to some of Gaudí's most renowned creations including several that bear his name; Palau Güell, Parque Güell and the ...

Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

Some of the most magnificent structures ever conceived were built in the Middle Ages. Few modern structures can match the awe inspiring gothic cathedrals of Europe. These massive monuments to times past were often constructed over decades and sometimes over hundreds of years; generations of craftsmen dedicated their lives to the projects never to see the final glory of the completed cathedrals. Take York Minster for example; started in 1220 the current cathedral took ...

Ferdinand Cheval's "Le Palais Idéal", Hauterives, France

If ever there was a labor of love it must have been the construction of "The Ideal Palace". Ferdinand Cheval was a French postman or "facteur" who build "Le Palais Idéal" over the course of decades from 1879 to 1912. One day in 1879 while walking his post route he hit his foot on a stone. Not a significant event one would think but it actually changed his life completely. For whatever reason he was intrigued by the stone; it's shape and form. From that small stone grew the dream and passion that would ...