Study Abroad in Barcelona or Urbino
 

Hello I am an architecture student and it is required to go to study abroad for my degree. My school offers two programs, one in Barcelona Spain that has seats for 18 students and one in Urbino Italy for 100 students. The Barcelona trip, while centralized in Barcelona, travels to Northern Spain, Madrid, and Southern Sapin as well. The Urbino trip goes to Rome, Tuscany, the Veneto, and other parts in Northern Italy. I am supposed to decide by next semester and I am not sure. I have never been to Europe before and am intrigued with both destinations. Both trips can be taken in Spring or Fall, and has a week break for further abroad travel. I always wanted to go to Italy however, Urbino is in the middle of nowhere and is at least an hour away from the transit system (Rimini or Ancona). I wanted to be able to do further travel easily on my time off, but I am not sure how easy it is to travel from Urbino. Barcelona has an airport and transit system allowing me to easily travel in Spain and France. I also prefer large cities to explore, and Barcelona is that too. Although I always wanted to travel to Italy, I also love the variety of Spanish architecture from Christian, Islamic, to Modern. I am also familiar with the professor with the Spain trip versus the Italy trip. Which trip would be better for a first time European traveler, architecture student? Thank you so much for your time and help.

You've answered your own question - Barcelona hands down.

Urbino could claim to be one of the oldest 'urban' places in Europe but like you say is a backwater as transit goes - to get to Florence means a long bus ride I'd think and Rome bus and train or train via Ancona - OTOH you can take an overnight ferry to Greece from nearby Urbino - Ancona at the end of your studies and Greek architecture of course is...... well....

Provided that your interest in architecture is not specifically focused on the pioneering architectural theory that the Duke of Montefeltro and Urbino has to offer, everything you've thus far said about yourself indicates you'd get more out of being based in Barcelona.

Keep in mind, however, that there are many cheap flights out of Barcelona to Italian airports, so you might be able to have a weekend or longer in Italy as well.

Architecturally Barcelona is very interesting. Look up the Modernism buildings, not just those by Gaudi. Here's some more up-to-date buildings: http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.c...hitecture.html and here: http://www.localnomad.com/en/blog/20...-in-barcelona/. I like Josep Lluís Sert's Miro museum om Montjuif.

Barcelona is also of interest for town planning.

The more I read about Barcelona the more I wanted to see there. Alas, we only had 4 days. Lucky you!

In Figueras about an hour or less now by train from Barcelona there is a Salvador Dali museum - the building is an interesting as its contents, kind of.

I love Italy, but for your architecture class, would choose Spain. Then I would try to get to Rome and Florence for a few days while in Europe.

There are some wonderful Greek antiquities in Sicily. How can you not admire Roman architecture? That said, I would spend my semester abroad in Barcelona. Spain is actually many countries under one flag. There are separate and distinct cultures and languages and influences.

I always say the art of Barcelona is not in their museums but in their streets with moderisme and Gothic architecture among others.

In the center of the country you have Segovia with a Roman aqueduct that they just stopped using about 25 years. San Sebastian/Donostia has beautiful Belle Epoque designs. Down in the south, you have Gothic, Roman, Moorish, and Mudéjar.

The Spanish bus and train system is excellent and their are cheapo airlines like Vueling, Ryan, and Easyjet.

Please note while they speak Castilian and English in Barcelona, the dominant language is Catalan, which is founded in Provencal not Spanish.

And if you need convincing, read the crabby, knowledgeable, opinionated, but insightful art critic Robert Hughes's book Barcelona.

I tend to agree that Barcellona would probably offer you more for this study abroad program, but I'd like to correct the idea that Urbino (which is near where I live) is in the middle of nowhere.

The airport in Ancona has a number of international connections, including to London, Paris, Charleroi (Belgium), Barcelona, Munich and Dusseldorf. Granted, it's a bit of a pain to get to the airport by bus, train, and another bus. On the plus side, all these flights are on low-cost airlines. We've flown to London for as little as €30 (including taxes), and once there was even a "free" flight, where we paid just the airport taxes. We've flown to Charleroi as an easy way to get to Paris. The flight to Munich is a direct flight, and the airport is very near the center of the city.

There is a direct bus from Urbino to Rome, and another bus connects to the Adriatic train stations in Fano and Pesaro.

Urbino is in the Marche region of Italy. It has little of architectural interest after the 18th century, but it has some beautiful medieval churches and monasteries (Romanesque mostly), some interesting examples of medieval military architecture, and some Baroque interiors. It's also in the middle of a very scenic region of Italy, one of the most beautfiful, although I have a certain bias.

One of the major disadvantages of Urbino for a foreign student is that getting around locally is problematic if you don't have a car. That's really a bigger problem than long-distance travel.

Fine Picasso frescos on the Architects' Association of Catalonia building right on Plaza Nova in Barcelona (where the cathedral is).
https://www.arquitectes.cat/en/coac/...ation/about-us
http://www.photaki.es/foto-colegio-d...ona_493136.htm

The Norwegian Carl Nesjar collaborated closely with Picasso for many years and did the actual work based on his drawings. The Architect Association frescos dates back to 1961. A few yers later, in 1970, the two did "The fishermen" on the front of the characteristic "Y-building" in the Government complex in downtown Oslo. The "Y-building" is now under serious threath to be demolished against fierce oppsoition, not least from the Catalan Architects Association itself: http://www.visitoslo.com/en/product/?TLp=379998
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014...93533823266184

Thank you all so much for your advice. I will definitely try to go to the Barcelona Study abroad. On my week off abroad I will probably stop off in Rome, Florence, and Venice for the week. Thanks again for your help and the links.