"Barcelona" presents a study—in text and photographic image—of one of the most architecturally fascinating and impressive cities in the world. From the Gaudí cathedral to Albert Viaplana and Helio Piñón's recent Centre de Cultura Contemporània, from the Palau de la Musica to the Dali Museum, what we find is a city whose magnificent strength lies in the coexistence of its amazingly diverse and historically disparate variety of structures. The city of Barcelona absorbs new influences and maintains traditions organically, avoiding a sense of fragmentation for a sense of exuberance and limitless possibility. "Barcelona" presents this diversity in beautiful color photographs and insightful and historically astute essays, exploring the place of Modernism in the city's architecture, its dialectic between past and present, the influence of the decorative arts, and the interplay between the spectacular and functional aspects of its architecture.