Word: 13th
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...When divers leap for Olympic perfection off the open-air platform in Barcelona, their performances will be rivaled by the view -- by cable cars moving past Columbus on his column pointing to the New World; by the crown of thorns of the 13th century cathedral La Seu; by the unfinished confection of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, its eight towers reaching to the sky even as the divers speed downward, trying not to make a splash...
From then on, Catalans ran Catalunya, and Barcelona, for themselves. They were jealous of their independence and determined to sustain their own laws ; and language. From the 13th century through the 15th, their outward thrust created a Mediterranean trading empire that stretched from the coast of North Africa to the gates of Byzantium. With the money this brought home, a city grew: the greatest Spanish city of the Middle Ages. Even today the Barri Gotic, or Old City, of Barcelona, facing the port, contains in its winding alleys more functioning Gothic structures than any other such enclave in Europe...
Barcelona's democratic traditions and sense of independence go back to the Middle Ages. There were menestrals -- shopkeepers and artisans -- on the Consell de Cent, or Council of One Hundred, the governing body of the city, in the 13th century. The city's charter of citizens' rights, the Usatges, or Usages, predates the Magna Carta by a century. And the Catalans' sense of otherness -- the separation, cultural and institutional, from the rest of Spain -- comes through loud and clear in the oath of allegiance their leaders swore to the Aragonese kings in the 15th century: "We, who are as good...
...Although Spain's 17 regions are gaining more autonomy, the national-identity issue remains explosive. Catalans and Basques, who control their own schools, police forces and television stations, envision an even more independent future under a Euro-umbrella. The Basque country, says Guernica Mayor Eduardo Vallejo, "should be the 13th star on the E.C. flag...
Following the presentation of the Daytime Emmys' Best Actress Award, Susan Lucci bawled -- not because she lost for the 13th straight time but because she got a standing ovation for her 22-year portrayal of nasty Erica Cane in All My Children. Lucci graciously thanked the audience, something Erica would never...