Statues of queens are all over the square. The intention was to put these statues on top of the palace but they were too heavy， so they were placed on the square in front of the palace instead.
La Sagrada Familia
神圣家族教堂
神圣家族教堂是巴塞罗那的象征，它由许多尖塔和楼台组成，像路标一样直指云天。它的历史并不太长，1898年才开始修建，到今天已经建了100多年，尚未完工，目前已完工的只有基督诞生门。教堂是西班牙19世纪最有才华的建筑师安东尼·高迪（Antoni Gaudi)设计的，原址是一座小教堂，经过高迪的精心设计，把它扩建成一座长90米，宽60米的大教堂。高迪在设计中注入了大量的自然主义和西班牙本土风格，使大教堂充满了神秘和童话色彩。在教堂的外部有3扇大门，每扇门的顶端竖立4个尖塔，共12个尖塔象征着耶稣的12个弟子。大教堂中间的穹顶高达170米，它象征着主耶稣基督的荣誉；穹顶旁边耸立着数座钟塔，其中高125米的钟塔代表着圣母玛利亚，其余的代表了撰写四福音的四位圣者。教堂中心塔有螺旋形楼梯直达塔顶，在此可鸟瞰巴塞罗那全城。
La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona， Catalonia， Spain， more formally Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia or Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family， is Antoni Gaudí，s masterwork masterwork n.极品， 名着.
It is a Roman Catholic basilica (not a cathedral - the cathedral of Barcelona is the Cathedral of Santa Eulàlia， a Gothic building of the late Middle Ages). After disagreements disagreement n.意见不同， 不调和， 争执， 不和， 争论 between the founding association and the original architect Francesc del Villar， Gaudí was assigned the project in 1884 and created an entirely new design. He worked on the project for over 40 years， devoting the last 15 years of his life entirely to this endeavour endeavour n.（英）尽力，竭力； on the subject of the extremely long construction， Gaudí is said to have joked， “My client is not in a hurry”. Upon its completion completion n.完成， it will be the largest basilica in the world.
As the building proceeded higher and higher， the style got more and more fantastic with four spindleshaped towers that can be likened to termites， nests or children，s drip sand castles. They are crowned with geometrically shaped tops that were probably influenced by Cubism (they were finished around 1920). There are also many complicated complicated adj.复杂的， 难解的 decorations that are said to be in the style of Art Nouveau.
Gaudí died in 1926. The towers were originally intended to be three times higher. Parts of the unfinished building and Gaudí，s models and workshop were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War. Gaudí left no further plans and work on the privately owned church has been episodic. Since 1940 the architects Francesc Quintana， Puig Boada， and Lluís Gari have carried on the work. Sculptures by J. Busquets and the controversial controversial adj.争论的， 争议的 Josep Subirachs decorate the fantastical facades.
According to the newspaper El Periódico de Catalunya， 2.26 million people visited the unfinished basilica basilica n.(古罗马)长方形会堂， 长方形基督教堂 in 2004， making it the most popular attraction in Spain， before the Museo del Prado and Alhambra.
The design is based both on reconstructed versions of the lost plans and on modern adaptations adaptation n.适应， 改编， 改写本.
Every part of the design is rich with mystic mystic adj.神秘的， 神秘主义的 n.神秘家， 神秘主义的鼓吹者 Christian symbolism， as Gaudí intended the church to be the “last great sanctuary sanctuary n.避难所 of Christendom.” Its most striking aspect are its spindleshaped towers. A total of 18 tall towers are called for， representing in ascending ascending adj.上升的， 向上的 order of height the 12 Apostles， the 4 Evangelists， the Virgin Mary and， tallest of all， Jesus Christ. The evangelists， towers will be surmounted by sculptures of their traditional symbols： an angel (St. Luke)， a bull (St. Matthew)， an eagle (St. John)， and a lion (St. Mark). The central Christ tower will be surmounted surmounted ［建］拱［拱顶］的高度大于起拱线长度的一半的 by a giant cross； the tower，s total height will be one metre less than that of Montjuic， as Gaudí believed that his work should not surpass that of God. The lower towers are surmounted by bunches bunch n.串， 束v.捆成一束 of grapes， representing spiritual fruit.
The church will have three grand facades： the Nativity facade， the Glory facade (yet to be completed)， and the Passion facade. The Passion facade is especially striking for its spare， gaunt bunch n.串， 束v.捆成一束， tormented characters， including emaciated emaciated adj.瘦弱的， 衰弱的 figures of Christ being flogged and on the crucifix. These controversial designs are the work of Josep Subirachs.
Themes throughout the decoration include words from the liturgy. The towers are decorated with words such as “Hosanna”， “Excelsis”， and “Sanctus”； the great doors of the Passion facade reproduce words from the Bible in various languages including Catalan； and the Glory facade is supposed to be decorated with the words from the Apostles， Creed.
Areas of the sanctuary will be designated to represent various concepts， such as saints， virtues， sins， and secular secular adj.长期的 concepts such as regions of Spain， presumably with decoration to match.
Computer modelling has been necessary to describe the shapes of various elements such as the inner pillars of the church as Gaudí intended them. See also “catenary”. CAD/CAM technology has been used to speed up the construction of the building； initially， the construction work was expected to last for several hundred years， based on building techniques available in the early 1900s. At the latest estimate， building works are expected to be complete around 2026. It appears that the construction work calls for many pieces of stone to be machined to unique shapes - each being subtly different from the next， and that these pieces are now being machined accurately accurately adv.正确地， 精确地 offsite， reducing the overall construction time.
The Museo del Prado
普拉多博物馆
普拉多博物馆是西班牙最大的艺术博物馆，位于马德里，收藏有从14世纪到19世纪欧洲着名的艺术品。对于一切美术爱好者来说，普拉多博物馆都是一个非到不可的地方。那是一个琳琅满目、美不胜收的世界，珍藏着人类最高才智创造出来使人永难忘却的大量艺术杰作。它的收藏丰富多彩、出类拔萃，被公认为世界上最重要的博物馆之一。它不仅使人眼花缭乱，它的作品还向人们传递了历史的足音，是往昔灿烂文化的见证。这对于了解西方文明精神是必不可少的。普拉多的宝藏着实迷人，它展现在你的眼前，和谐而又亲切：欧洲各流派大师的名作汇集于此，即使有些出自艺匠之手，也技艺精湛，因为他们深谙创作不朽之作的奥秘。这一切，均藏于西班牙首都马德里几幢宏伟壮观的建筑中。
普拉多的主体建筑，于18世纪末由建筑师胡安·德·比利亚努埃瓦按新古典主义风格设计，原先作自然科学馆用。以后几经沧桑，特别在法国入侵西班牙——拿破仑把他的兄弟安置在西班牙王位上——之后，普拉多改作绘画博物馆，于1819年根据斐迪南七世（1813～1833在位)的命令开幕。除大量绘画作品，这里还搜集了雕刻、素描、家具、钱币、徽章、从壁毯到彩色镶嵌玻璃窗的各种装饰艺术品以及稀世的珠宝。在18世纪末的另一幢建筑比利亚埃尔莫萨宫里，陈列18世纪欧洲及西班牙艺术家的作品；后者以戈雅的作品为中心，突出了这位阿拉贡天才艺术家无与伦比的品格。距离这两座建筑不远，是“隐逸馆”，它是同名旧皇宫遗存下来的部分，陈列19世纪的艺术品，即从戈雅之后开始，至胡安·格里斯、米罗、毕加索——其着名的《格尔尼卡》于1981年收进——一代，作品均属普拉多。
