Walking Barcelona's Bari Gotik

One day we decided to do the nearby Bari Gotik, Barcelona's oldest quarter, using our trusty Michelin guide. In the Bari Gotik you can go from Roman to Medieval, to Renaissance, to Modernista, and back and forth, in just a matter of steps. We adhered to the Michelin pretty much, except for the usual detours and excursions...

Modernista en route...very much in need of some maintenance

Ditto; our neighborhood is the Fort Pienc, sort of
in between Bari Gotik and the Eixample

Now on the cathedral square, Placa Nova--we did the Gothic
cathedral itself in 2017--looking at the Roman guard towers...
Barcino, it was called then 

Looks Roman to me

The Renaissance bishop's palace...love that vow of poverty thing

Shrapnel damage to the facade of the church of St. Felip Neri; 
Franco's fascist friends from Italy bombed Barcelona mercilessly
in 1938, destroying the church and killing 20 of the children
seeking refuge in it; see below

On Placa Sant Jaume, major square of the Catalan government,
site of important events, celebrations, protests; one of the government
buildings; the roses are coming out all over, since Sunday is St. George's
Day--Catalan's patron saint--but also the Catalan version of Valentine's
Day--it's traditional for boy to give girl a rose, and for girl to give boy a
book...interpret or translate this however you like gender- and otherwise 

Street lamps all in a row near Carrer del Paradis

Remains of the Temple of Augustus, protected in a Medieval complex

The grandeur that was Rome

Gargoyles all in a row

Never very far from the cathedral on this walk

Beautiful stenciling on a modern building nearby

Gothic Bridge of Sighs (or Whoas, or Huhs)

More in a row

Many neat cafes, restos, studios along the way

More bits of the colossal Roman wall

Artist's studio

Back to the walls and towers...just as in Rome,
flats are built right into these structures...

Now in the Placa del Rei, Medieval palaces of
Catalan and Aragon princes and kings

From the Catalan archives, Columbus' deal with
Ferdinand and Isabella [click to enlarge and
appreciate that the Admiral of the Ocean Sea
had a very sharp lawyer...]

Beautifully carved ceiling over a stairwell

And back to the Gothic

And multiple scenes of St. George and the dragon...