janeandbobandmore: THE OLD PRESERVED IN BARCELONA

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The finest and most extensive collection of Romanesque frescoes from the 10^th and 11^th centuries may be seen at the National Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) in Barcelona. Originally, these paintings were applied directly to the walls, ceilings and pillars of many of the small remote Romanesque churches in Spain and especially the Pyrenees. Recognizing that they art treasures were threatened in the modern age – by deterioration or pillage - the government of Catalonia made a plan to remove these frescoes intact. Early in the 20^th century, a small group of Italian restoration experts successfully carried out this incredibly delicate task. Having been transferred to a stretched cloth, these frescoes were transferred to an especially designed area of the museum where they are applied to wooden frames in the shape of the original wall, arch or pillar of the church from which they were taken. The shapes of whole chapels and their component parts are duplicated with their original frescoes on the surface. Sensing a chapel setting adds even more to the authenticity of the experience. These aged frescoes, now seen in one location and protected by the museum, never will be destroyed by falling or leaking roofs, collapsing walls, and, as happened to several of them during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), to be demolished in battle. Here they are preserved as an amazing and accessible treasure from the distant past.

The museum utilizes the space of a building constructed for the International Exposition of 1929, held in Barcelona. It sits on Montjuic, a hill overlooking the city, capital of the province of Catalonia. The name means Jews' hill. Jewish culture thrived throughout the Iberian Peninsula in an era known as the Golden Age. Spain’s large, influential, and prolific Jewish community had a rich history until their tragic expulsion by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492.

A different kind of preservation may be seen down the hill from the National Museum. The entire brick exterior of the circular bullfighting arena located in downtown Barcelona has been transformed for a completely different purpose -- enclosing a modern shopping mall. The stands and sand of the arena have been replaced with large bright yellow beams supporting three floors of glass fronted shops circling the inner side of the building. The formerly cheering crowds have been replaced by shoppers now entering to buy jewelry, clothes, cameras --- goods from around the world. The former focus of interest here, the bulls and matadors, are left to the imagination.