Travel Photography Photos tagged as (catalonia
As the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona houses the seat of the Catalan government, known as the Generalitat de Catalunya; of particular note are the executive branch, the parliament and the Supreme Court of Catalonia. The city is also the capital of the county (comarca) of the Barcelonès.
Barcelona has a Mediterranean climate, with mild, humid winters and warm, dry summers. January and February are the coldest months, averaging temperatures of 10 °C (50 °F). Snowfalls are so rare that they are remembered as special events. July and August are the hottest months, averaging temperatures of 30 °C (86 °F). The highest recorded maximum temperature in the city itself is 38.6 °C.
Building work on the Cathedral began at the end of the 13th century and ended six centuries later. The oldest part of the Cathedral is the doorway of Sant Iu; the façade, which was completed in 1890, is the most recent. Important features are the high altar, the 15th-century bell tower and cloisters, the choir stalls, the pulpit, the crypt of Santa Eulŕlia (one of Barcelona's two patron saints), and the doorway of La Pietat (entrance to the cloister).
The Gothic building is located on the site of an early-Christian basilica (4th century) with three naves, of which the baptistry is all that remains (it was destroyed in 958).
Barcelona is located on the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Mediterranean Sea, on a plateau approximately 5 km (3 mi) wide limited by the mountain range of Collserola, the Llobregat river to the south-west and the Besòs river to the north[11]. This plateau has 170 km² (66 sq mi)[11], of which 101 km² (38.9 sq mi)[12] are occupied by the city itself. It is 160 km (100 mi) south of the Pyrenees and the Catalonian border with France.