Barcelona, a Mediterranean city. Barcelona is the heart and motor of the Spanish Autonomous Communitie of Catalonia in the northeast corner of the Iberian peninsula. Catalonia is Spain's leading economic region and one of the most dynamic regions of Europe, with almost 20% of national production for a region that is only 6,3% of Spain's extension and has just over 16% of the population. There are more than 7 million inhabitants in Catalonia and of these close to 70% live in Barcelona city and the metropolitan area. With almost 5,5 million people, Barcelona has one of the largest metropolitan areas of any Mediterranean city.
As a powerful Mediterranean port and the capital of Catalonia, this rich, historical past is the foundation on which the new city was based. Barcelona has many districts, mixing old - Roman and gothic- and modern -Gaudi. Barcelona's residents are open minded and cosmopolitan, bringing a bohemian flavour to the city, which lies between the mountains and sea. Catalan is the co-official language with Spanish. Although Catalan is often thought of as a transitional language between the Iberian Romance languages (such as Spanish) and Gallo-Romance languages (such as French), this characterization is not accurate. For instance, phonologically, Catalan is more similar to Italian than Spanish or French. Barcelona has played an increasingly important role in Spain’s recent political and economic life. However, in this brief introduction we should go much further back, with Barcelona’s origins as a city over 2,000 years ago. As early as the fourth century BCE, Barcelona’s cycle of invasions began. And with each new conqueror came visible influence on the city’s culture, politics, and architecture. |
