Introduction to Catalonia , Barcelona

GETTING TO KNOW CATALONIA
According to a legend widely accepted by the Catalonian people, in the ninth century, just before Wifredo I (El Velloso) died, blood from his battle wounds was smeared onto his shield, forming four vertical lines: the four red stripes featured on the senyera, or flag of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia. Thus was born the symbol of identity of Catalonia, an outwardlooking, Mediterranean region with its own culture and language (Catalan), through which its personality has gradually taken shape. Of a friendly nature, Catalonians are extroverted yet discreet and these characteristics come to the fore in their traditional dance, the sardana, a true reflection of fraternity, performed to the beat of  music charged with melodiousness.
With a population of over six million, Catalonia covers a surface area of 31,930 km2 in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is flanked to the north by France and Andorra, to the south by the Autonomous Community of Valencia, to the west by Aragón and to the east by the Mediterranean Sea, whose waters bathe its more than 500 km of coastline.
A land of contrasts, the Catalonian community is of a varied relief which endows it with clearly differentiated landscapes: deep valleys, remote mountain villages, large capital cities, seafaring towns, snow-capped peaks, spacious beaches and even tiny coves that may be reached only from the sea. As a result, the visitor finds himself in the enviable position of being able to enjoy highly different scenes within easy distance of one another