The new and the familiar
Personally, I have never really enjoyed churches, especially of catholic symbolism. I grew up in a catholic school and I never liked the darkness of churches and chapels, its smell of incense and the images of saints, martyrs and virgins -although I did feel curious about it. When I travel, I appreciate the architectural value of cathedrals and churches, but I rarely go inside or stay for too long. I know doing so is ignoring a big part of the point, but I simply don't feel attached to these places and don't feel comfortable in them either.
Nevertheless, I actually enjoy Santa María del Mar. I don't feel very different about the religious images inside than I do in the other churches, but I could stay for hours with my head up looking at its structure and its stained glass windows. I like the simplicity of it, how illuminated it is, the shapes it takes, the contrast of the light and darkenned stone -which I have only recently learned it is from a fire lit by anarquists during the Spanish Civil War- and its elevated columns. I think its beauty and attractiveness is also due to its location, in the middle of one of the most visited (and one of my favorites) neighborhoods of Barcelona.
Because of that, I remember visiting it or just passing by with many people in multiple ocassions: with my best friend the first time I was in Barcelona, with the friends that have visited while I have been here, walking around with people I have met in the city... But I have an especially good memory from when my family came to visit some months ago and I took my grandmother to see it -she does appreciate religion, and also has spoken to me about the novel La Catedral del Mar almost every time we have talked about Barcelona. I have been a reading lover since I was a child thanks to her, so we share impressions about every author and book. She loved this novel and explained to me how amazingly the history of the cathedral was narrated in it (and she also lent me the novel, which is in my room back at home and I want to read when I come back), but she had never seen the cathedral in real life, so it was the first place we went to when she came, and I loved how she was so happy to finally visit the place and how she liked it (more than probably more than I do) and had a completely different sense of place in it than I do.
Going back to how I feel about places of cult, I know Laura has a similar feeling about religion than me but a very different one about this place. When we talked about Santa María del Mar we both related it to our childhood, but very differently. This cathedral does not remind me at all of my hometown, where churches are obviously smaller and darker. Instead, the building and the whole quarter, with all the people, shops and intertwined streets, make me feel like a mixture of feeling in a new place and the excitement about it -I still feel that thrill of newness and curiosity about basically everything in Barcelona- and the comfort of having built (or rather being in the process of building) a life here, feeling attached to places and live within and through them with so many people -some from home and some that I did not know months ago but are now like my home here.
Because of that, I remember visiting it or just passing by with many people in multiple ocassions: with my best friend the first time I was in Barcelona, with the friends that have visited while I have been here, walking around with people I have met in the city... But I have an especially good memory from when my family came to visit some months ago and I took my grandmother to see it -she does appreciate religion, and also has spoken to me about the novel La Catedral del Mar almost every time we have talked about Barcelona. I have been a reading lover since I was a child thanks to her, so we share impressions about every author and book. She loved this novel and explained to me how amazingly the history of the cathedral was narrated in it (and she also lent me the novel, which is in my room back at home and I want to read when I come back), but she had never seen the cathedral in real life, so it was the first place we went to when she came, and I loved how she was so happy to finally visit the place and how she liked it (more than probably more than I do) and had a completely different sense of place in it than I do.
Going back to how I feel about places of cult, I know Laura has a similar feeling about religion than me but a very different one about this place. When we talked about Santa María del Mar we both related it to our childhood, but very differently. This cathedral does not remind me at all of my hometown, where churches are obviously smaller and darker. Instead, the building and the whole quarter, with all the people, shops and intertwined streets, make me feel like a mixture of feeling in a new place and the excitement about it -I still feel that thrill of newness and curiosity about basically everything in Barcelona- and the comfort of having built (or rather being in the process of building) a life here, feeling attached to places and live within and through them with so many people -some from home and some that I did not know months ago but are now like my home here.
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