La Sagrada Familia

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One great thing about Barcelona is that you can walk around randomly and every 5 to 10 minutes you’ll just happen across an interesting-looking building (the ‘normal’ buildings are also quite nice). The most famous of these buildings were designed by the modernist architect Antoni Gaudi and of them his masterwork is the yet-unfinished cathedral La Sagrada Familia.

Earlier in my trip I saw both Notre Dame cathedral in Paris and Il Duomo in Firenze, both of which are very large, intricately-detailed places of worship that took over a century to complete. One of the thoughts I recall having was that nobody in modern times has the ambition or the patience (not to mention the life-expectancy or the funds) to spend so long constructing a single building. However, La Sagrada Familia is pretty much just that. Work began on it in 1882 and is scheduled to take another 15-20 years to complete. It is probably the most detailed and ambitious project I’ve ever been witness to. It is bursting with religious symbolism everywhere you look, and even though Gaudi and I don’t see eye to eye on religious issues, I nevertheless found it all very compelling and thought that it enhanced the project to a level that even the stunning architecture couldn’t achieve alone.

And believe me, the architecture is plenty stunning. The most distinct elements completed so far are the two facades on either side of the building. On the east side, where the sun rises, is the nativity façade with images depicting and celebrating the birth of Jesus. On the west side, where the sun sets, is the passion façade with scenes depicting events leading up to, and including, the crucifixion. Both of the these facades, as well as the not-yet-realized glory façade, are capped by four highly-recognizable bell towers rising up to 100 meters into the air. Each tower represents one of the twelve apostles. Eventually these towers will be joined by four others that represent the four evangelists, one that represents the Virgin Mary and, the centerpiece of the whole project, a 170-meter high tower representing Jesus. The interior isn’t too shabby either. It is actually possible to take an elevator up into one of the bell towers and walk down a narrow spiral staircase back to the bottom. I would have enthusiastically taken this opportunity were the wait not a good hour or so.

It really is something that has to be seen to be fully appreciated and I highly recommend it to all of you. Having already seen it is no excuse either, since progress is constantly being made. I know I want to head back in 10 years and see where they’re at.

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Photos

Tree of Life
Nativity Facade

La Sagrada Familia Itself
Pictured on nativity facade

Passion Facade
Two scenes

Interior Ceiling
Notice the branching columns and leaf-like hyperboloids

Church and Neighborhood
Taken from Tibidabo