Robert Hughes on the history of Barcelona

I've been reading Robert Hughes' brilliant book on the history of Barcelona. His breadth of interest and erudition, coupled with a very antipodean directness of speaking, opens so many windows onto this remarkable city in particular, and, more widely, Catalunya's unique character and its uneasy relationship with the rest of Spain. And, of course, architecture and architects figure bold in his viewfinder. Not just Gaudi, although he merits a whole section to himself, but everything from the solid virtues of the casa pairal to the moderniste extravagance of Lluís Domènech i Montaner's works. I first came across Robert Hughes when he presented his TV series on Barcelona and the Olympics of 1992, I've been a real fan ever since - I’m still catching up  on his earlier work.