Gaudí’s shoes

During our little tour in Southern Europe I also visited Barcelona for a few days. The Economist had just put Barcelona at number 4 as the city most burdened by mass tourism. On an annual basis, 6 times as many tourists as inhabitants. Only Milan, Paris and Amsterdam are doing worse according to this list. The latter appears to be the leader of the 20 cities with a tenfold increase in tourists versus residents. In other studies, (smaller) cities make it even more colourful. Usual suspect Venice has a ratio of 21, much lower than Dubrovnik, 36! Just to gauge our guilt. We trample on the beauty that attracted us. In many places, the handbrake is being pulled in a way. In Barcelona, the monumental part of Parc Guëll has only been accessible with a ticket for ten years. After last year, this applies to the entire park. From 2028, the rental of apartments to tourists will be prohibited, although this is mainly intended to reduce the housing shortage by 10,000 homes. And it’s true, in certain places this wonderful city is a tourist funnel. However, I noticed something completely different. We visited Casa Milà and the Sagrada Familia, both highlights of Antoni Gaudì’s oeuvre. I was struck by how much interest and love the visitors took in the beauty of the architecture. I was overwhelmed by the grandeur of the Sagrada Familia. Still not finished, but the colourful and at the same time meaningful collection of colours, shapes and details, the hand of the master, enchanted thousands of visitors at the same time. We want more and more, we probably want too much because there are many of us. So reducing mass tourism, fine. Conversely, I would say that there should be new places of enchantment and meaning. Gaudí’s shoes are big to fill, but how nice would it be if his architecture got successors. Many new masterpieces that everyone wants to take a moment to remember.