The text below is the excerpt from the book Antoni Gaudí, written by Jeremy Roe, published by Parkstone International. In order to understand the real significance of Gaudí’s architecture it is necessary to take into account various factors which influenced his thinking. His family background, childhood, place of birth and schooling, the historical context of Catalonia and Spain during his lifetime, his friends and relations, all form the framework for the very special and very distinct architecture of Antoni Gaudí Cornet. However, his personality is hard to capture for various reasons. In the first place, Gaudí’s shy and retiring nature meant that there are virtually no original documents in existence that show…