By Liana Jacob
WITH THE CONTROVERSIAL CATALAN referendum approaching, coloured vintage photographs have been released revealing its largest city, Barcelona’s cultural background during the early twentieth century.
The stunning pictures illustrate the famous Spanish pastime of bull fighting in Barcelona and the majestic landscape of the Fachada de la Catedral between 1890 and 1906.
Another picture exposes the elaborate architecture of Arco de Triunfo y Palacio. While another image depicts the touristic environment in the Plaza de la Paz.
Barcelona is one of the four provinces of Catalonia; an autonomous community of Spain. The four provinces consist of Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona.
The Catalan parliament have decided to hold a referendum to decide whether Catalonia should remain as part of Spain or go independent, despite the disagreement from the Spanish government.
The Spanish government have gone to lengths to prevent the impending referendum, which include; taking 700 Catalan mayors to court for allowing the option for the vote to go ahead.
The referendum was recently supported by Scotland’s First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party, Nicola Sturgeon.
The capital and largest city of Catalonia is Barcelona, it’s also the second-most populated municipality in Spain and the core of the seventh-most populous urban area in the European Union.
There are currently 988 counties that are part of Catalonia and has a devolved government; the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a substantial level.
The first known human settlements in what is now called Catalonia were at the beginning of the Middle Palaeolithic, which is the second subdivision of the Stone Age.
The referendum is to take place on October 1, 2017.
