ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the heritage can also be applied to both architectural and tourist sites as they are often one and the same, sharing common narrations. The process of inventing the imaginary of Antoni Gaud's architecture is a little-known example with which to illustrate and study in depth the concepts of change and reshaping in heritage and tourist site-making processes. To begin with it should be said that Gaud's imaginary derives in turn from the highly complex development process of Barcelona's modern tourist imaginary. Accordingly, Gaud's architecture sought to reflect the status of the families who commissioned the architect's work as well as their ideals, which were closely linked to Catalan nationalism and the Catholic Church. After the architect's death and the Spanish Civil War, the imaginaries related to Gaud's architecture changed considerably, while internationally the architect and his works fell into oblivion. It is a progressive change that unfolds in parallel to the touristic exploitation of Gaud's architecture.
