"Do you want to know where I found my model? An upright tree; it bears its branches and these, in turn, their twigs, and these, in turn, the leaves. And every individual part has been growing harmoniously, magnificently, ever since God the artist created it."- Antoni Gaudi'

Raised during the Industrial Revolution, Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi' (1852-1926) strove to distinguish and reaffirm the identity of his native Catalonia as Spain and the rest of Europe modernized. Early neo-Gothic designs were the stepping-stone to the mature, original style that came to be synonymous with his name. Incorporating bold colors and odd bits of material into his designs, Gaudi' created inspiring, visionary buildings and helped establish Barcelona (most notably with the still-unfinished Sagrada Fami'lia cathedral) as a city of the world.

Author:
Maria Antonietta Crippa is currently professor "straordinario" of History of Architecture at the Politecnico University in Milan, at the DiAP (Department of Architecture and Planning of the School of Architecture). Since the early 1980s, she has published widely on architecture and town planning.