"Turkey, Greece, Italy, Catalunya..."

Today I found that list of countries with extensive cultural histories in a travel book I got in 2007 before I went to study abroad in Spain.  It's published by Rick Steves' company and yes, I was incredibly shocked to find it in a sidebar tailing a section on Ancient Greece.  I mean, how likely is it to find Catalunya mentioned (in that same spelling) 1. in a book on European history, 2. in a book on European history geared towards North Americans, and 3. in a book on European history that's more of an overview?

Not very likely.  Catalunya and its unique history, culture and language may get a comment in most major guidebooks (Lonely Planet is decent enough to include Catalan phrases in their Barcelona guidebooks, I have yet to see any others that do), but this statement referring to cultures that are visited by many people, made me weak at the knees...if I hadn't been sitting while reading it.  Because in that short statement, probably overlooked by most people, states what Catalans have been trying to tell the world for centuries: We are our own country.

I think it's a beautiful thing when information like this, however subtle, is given to the general public.  Very few guidebooks seem to completely overlook Catalunya's cultural and historical differences from the rest of Spain, using wording that makes it sound either like Catalans are utterly delusional ("They carry Spanish passports, of course they're Spanish!") or the European equivalent of hicks ("Without Spain they'd probably still be tending their sheep in the hills!").  I sometimes like to go to the travel section in major bookstores and see what different guidebooks have to say about Barcelona/Catalunya "for the lulz", and this is a common attitude I get.

I just have to say, thank you, Rick Steves and Gene Openshaw, for considering Catalunya a country.  You're some of the few.