Barcelona

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Santa Maria del Mar

Plaça de Santa Maria, Born

This graceful basilica was built remarkably quickly for a medieval building, and was entirely constructed between 1329 and 1384, with an unusual unity of style for structures from that period. Inside, two rows of perfectly proportioned columns soar up to fan vaults, creating an atmosphere of space. There’s also superb stained glass, especially the great 15th-century rose window above the main door. The original window, built only slightly earlier, fell down during an earthquake, an accident that killed 25 people and injured dozens more.

It’s perhaps thanks to the group of anti-clerical anarchists who set this magnificent church ablaze in 1936 that its superb features can be appreciated: without the wooden baroque images that clutter so many Spanish churches, the simplicity of its lines can emerge. Try and catch a concert here if you can; particularly stirring are Handel’s Messiah at Christmas and Mozart’s Requiem at Easter.

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