{"id":5146,"date":"2021-01-20T15:00:44","date_gmt":"2021-01-20T14:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/?p=5146"},"modified":"2021-04-28T15:21:25","modified_gmt":"2021-04-28T13:21:25","slug":"spain-catalonia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/spain-catalonia\/","title":{"rendered":"Differences Between Spain And Catalonia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Catalonia<\/strong> is one of 50 provinces in Spain, and there are definitely some differences between Spain and Catalonia. The community of Catalonia contains the provinces of Girona, Tarragona, Lleida and Barcelona. Barcelona is known as the <strong>capital of Catalonia<\/strong> and Madrid is the capital of Spain.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"metaslider-id-104522\" style=\"max-width: 850px; margin: 0 auto;\" class=\"ml-slider-3-20-3 metaslider metaslider-responsive metaslider-104522 ml-slider\">\n    <div id=\"metaslider_container_104522\">\n        <ul id='metaslider_104522' class='rslides'>\n            <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/\" target=\"_self\"><img width=\"850\" height=\"182\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/en-1.jpg\" class=\"slider-104522 slide-104523\" alt=\"rental apartments in Barcelona\" rel=\"\" title=\"Banner medio home inquilinos\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n        \n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even though Catalonia is part of the Spanish nation, it is a distinct region that, like any other, has its own customs that make it unique. There are many perceptions of Catalonia on the national and international levels that do not fairly embody its complex cultural elements which truly make it distinct from other areas of Spain. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this article of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/\"><strong>ShBarcelona<\/strong><\/a>, we would like to share quite a number of cultural details, language, and social activities that are good for foreign visitors to be aware of.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_17 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-grey\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1\"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/spain-catalonia\/#Differences_between_Spain_and_the_Catalonian_region\" title=\"Differences between Spain and the Catalonian region\">Differences between Spain and the Catalonian region<\/a><ul class=\"ez-toc-list-level-3\"><li class=\"ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/spain-catalonia\/#Languages\" title=\"Languages\">Languages<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/spain-catalonia\/#Food\" title=\"Food&nbsp;\">Food&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/spain-catalonia\/#Catalan_traditions\" title=\"Catalan traditions\">Catalan traditions<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/spain-catalonia\/#Artistic_differences\" title=\"Artistic differences\">Artistic differences<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Differences_between_Spain_and_the_Catalonian_region\"><\/span>Differences between Spain and the Catalonian region<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Languages\"><\/span>Languages<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Catalonia is one of a few regions in Spain, such as the Basque Country and Galicia, which has its own language apart from Castilian Spanish. The language differences between the rest of <strong>Spain and Catalonia<\/strong> are mainly noticeable outside of Barcelona.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_105241\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-105241\" class=\"size-full wp-image-105241\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/globe-110775_640.jpg\" alt=\"world with words in different languages\" width=\"640\" height=\"341\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-105241\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photo by geralt via Pixabay<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Within the city of Barcelona, most people are <strong>bilingual and can speak Spanish and Catalan<\/strong>. Barcelona is a very international city, therefore many people speak at least one other language.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some nationalists in Catalonia choose to speak only in Catalan &#8211; this is done for many reasons, sometimes as part of the push for complete Catalonian independence or in response to the suppression of the language for many years during the dictatorial regime of general Franco.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a class=\"fasc-button fasc-size-large fasc-type-flat fasc-rounded-medium ico-fa fasc-ico-before fa-chevron-circle-right broken_link\" style=\"background-color: #850909; color: #ffffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/yearly-rental\" rel=\"nofollow\">Move to Barcelona permanently<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/catalan-language\/\">Catalan<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a Romance language like Spanish but is not a subset of Spanish itself. In fact, Catalan as a language is closer to<\/span> <strong>French<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <strong>Italian<\/strong> than <strong>Spanish<\/strong> or <strong>Portuguese<\/strong>. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <strong>Catalonia<\/strong>, this difference is most notably felt outside Barcelona as <strong>Catalan is the main language spoken on a daily basis<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_105242\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-105242\" class=\"size-full wp-image-105242\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/technology-2646431_640.jpg\" alt=\"spanish flag on keyboard\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-105242\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photo by AbsolutVision via Pixabay<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the Catalan spoken in Barcelona <strong>can be partially understood<\/strong> by people who speak some European languages, the Catalan spoken in other regions can be quite difficult to grasp as the accent can get very thick.&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Visitors who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/barcelona-rent\" class=\"broken_link\" rel=\"nofollow\"><strong>stay in Barcelona<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;can hear both languages spoken consistently in different settings. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government of Catalonia and Barcelona conducts its affairs in Catalan, whereas most businesses will have a mixture of both, depending on if their business services the rest of <strong>Spain<\/strong> or just local clientele.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Food\"><\/span>Food&nbsp;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are also subtle differences between the <strong>gastronomy of <\/strong><\/span><strong>Catalonia<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and other provinces in Spain. <strong>Spain<\/strong> is known in the tourist mind most notably for its chorizo and paella &#8211; however, Catalonia is most known for its specialties such as <strong>butifarra<\/strong>, a cinnamon pork sausage, <strong>fideuas<\/strong>, a type of noodle and <strong>cal\u00e7ots<\/strong>, spring onions.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_105243\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-105243\" class=\"size-full wp-image-105243\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/meal-5584447_640.jpg\" alt=\"paella\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-105243\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photo by andreinanacca via Pixabay<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Catalonia\u2019s food<\/strong> differs from that of Madrid, for example, also by the influence of French cuisine and the proximity to the ocean. A lot of restaurants in Catalonia&nbsp;will <strong>pair meat and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/find-seafood-like-a-local-barcelona\/\">seafood<\/a> together<\/strong>, which gives it a French flair.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">These differences can be seen in rural mountain towns that rely more on pork-heavy&nbsp;recipes as the area is well known for swine production, whereas coastal towns have more seafood-based recipes.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Catalan_traditions\"><\/span>Catalan traditions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another of the <strong>major differences between Catalonia and other regions in Spain<\/strong> is the <strong>cultural perception<\/strong> of each of the groups, although many of these perceptions are mostly based upon stereotypes among regions. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Catalonians<\/strong> tend to be seen as<strong> hard-working, business-minded and focused on succeeding<\/strong>, whereas southern areas such as Andalucia are often seen as more exuberant, fun-loving and outgoing.&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As with any region, t<\/span>here are also a number of important dates that are celebrated in all of&nbsp;<strong>Spain<\/strong> while others are celebrated only in&nbsp;<strong>Catalonia<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_105185\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-105185\" class=\"size-full wp-image-105185\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/2134037746_99476254b6_z.jpg\" alt=\"tio de nadal\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-105185\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photo by Josep Ma. Rosell via Visualhunt<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some of the national holidays are that of:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">the <strong>Epifania del Se\u00f1or<\/strong>&nbsp;or the <strong>Kings Day<\/strong>, on the 6th of January, the date in which most of the Spanish people exchange Christmas gifts;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">the 14th of January, the&nbsp;<strong>Holy Friday<\/strong>;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">May 1st,&nbsp;<strong>Worker&#8217;s Day<\/strong>;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">August 15th,&nbsp;<strong>Assunci\u00f3n de la Virgen<\/strong>;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">October 12th,&nbsp;<strong>Fiesta Nacional de Espa\u00f1a<\/strong>;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">November 1st,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/all-saints\/\"><strong>All Saints<\/strong><\/a>;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">December 6th,&nbsp;<strong>Constitution Day<\/strong>;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">and December 8th,&nbsp;<strong>Immaculate Conception Day<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_105245\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-105245\" class=\"size-full wp-image-105245\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/san-juan-1729492_640.jpg\" alt=\"bonfire during sant joan\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-105245\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photo by nuspla via Pixabay<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p>On top of the holidays mentioned above,&nbsp;<strong>Catalonia<\/strong> celebrates its own holidays, like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/nit-de-sant-joan-barcelona\/\"><strong>Sant Joan<\/strong><\/a>, on the 24th of June;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>La Diada<\/strong>, on September 11th;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>La Merc\u00e9<\/strong>, on September 24th (exclusively celebrated in Barcelona);<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">and <strong>Sant Esteban<\/strong>, on December 26th.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/catalan-traditions\/\">Interesting Catalan traditions<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Artistic_differences\"><\/span>Artistic differences<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Barcelona<\/strong> and <strong>Catalonia<\/strong> have always been seen the world over as an <strong>artist\u2019s mecca<\/strong> with amazing architectural designs and gorgeous art.&nbsp;Madrid has been experiencing a cultural revival of its own in the last couple of decades focusing on grassroots artist revival.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_105246\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-105246\" class=\"size-full wp-image-105246\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/paint-512822_640.jpg\" alt=\"paiting on canvas\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-105246\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photo by novelrobinsons via Pixabay<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Traditional art versus art nouveau is the main difference between the two, and some&nbsp;of the&nbsp;most famous and world-renowned artists of the past centuries were born in Catalonia: <strong>Antoni Gaud\u00ed<\/strong>, creator of <strong>La Sagrada Familia<\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/shbarcelona.barcelona.ticketbar.eu\/en\/attractions\/casa-batllo-be-the-first-en-\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><strong>Casa Batll\u00f3<\/strong><\/a>, La Pedrera, <a href=\"https:\/\/shbarcelona.barcelona.ticketbar.eu\/en\/attractions\/park-guell-skip-the-line-tickets-\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><strong>Park G\u00fcell<\/strong><\/a>, among others, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/dali-in-catalonia\/\"><strong>Salvador Dal\u00ed<\/strong><\/a>, the surrealist master.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Other&nbsp;<strong>artistic geniuses<\/strong> were born in other areas of Spain, such as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/picasso\/\"><strong>Pablo Picasso<\/strong><\/a>, the multi-talented artist who is originally from M\u00e1laga, and<b> Francisco Goya<\/b>, a romantic painter, who was born in Fuendetodos, in Aragon.<\/p>\n<p>We recommend you to take this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreverbarcelona.com\/tour\/private-barcelona-walking-tour\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"broken_link\">walking tour of Barcelona<\/a>, to see some of the most famous works of some of these artists.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a class=\"fasc-button fasc-size-large fasc-type-flat fasc-rounded-medium ico-fa fasc-ico-before fa-chevron-circle-right broken_link\" style=\"background-color: #850909; color: #ffffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/short-term-rentals\" rel=\"nofollow\">Holiday in Barcelona <\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Are there other differences you think are worth mentioning? <\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Share your thoughts in the comment section!<\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: none;\"\n    class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-valign-bottom kksr-align-left \"\n    data-id=\"5146\"\n    data-slug=\"\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"2\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"3\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"4\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"5\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-active\" style=\"width: 65px;\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-legend\">\n            <strong class=\"kksr-score\">2.2<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">\/<\/span>\n        <strong>5<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">(<\/span>\n        <strong class=\"kksr-count\">459<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">\n            votes        <\/span>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Catalonia is one of 50 provinces in Spain, and there are definitely some differences between Spain and Catalonia. The community of Catalonia contains the provinces of Girona, Tarragona, Lleida and Barcelona. Barcelona is known as the capital of Catalonia and Madrid is the capital of Spain. &nbsp; Even though Catalonia is part of the Spanish [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":85773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[615],"tags":[9725,550,4230,5062,9724],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5146"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5146"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105964,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5146\/revisions\/105964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}