Sagrada Família, Barcelona!

This was said to be Gaudi's dream his greatest work of art! The Sagrada Família is a large Roman Catholic Church that was never even finished during Gaudi's lifetime and they are still working on it today! Although incomplete, the church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in November 2010 was consecrated and proclaimed a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI. Though construction of Sagrada Família had commenced in 1882, Gaudí became involved in 1883, taking over the project and transforming it with his architectural and engineering style combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms. 

The first view of the Sagrada Familia!

Gaudí's original design calls for a total of eighteen spires, representing in ascending order of height the Twelve Apostles, the four Evangelists, the Virgin Mary and, tallest of all, Jesus Christ. Eight spires have been built as of 2010, corresponding to four apostles at the Nativity façade and four apostles at the Passion façade.

Gaudí devoted his last years to the project, and at the time of his death in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete.

On the subject of the extremely long construction period, Gaudí is said to have remarked: "My client is not in a hurry."

Themes throughout the decoration include words from the liturgy. The towers are decorated with words such as "Hosanna", "Excelsis", and "Sanctus";  the great doors of the Passion façade reproduce words from the Bible in various languages including Catalan; and the Glory façade is to be decorated with the words from the Apostles' Creed.

The completion of the spires will make Sagrada Família the tallest church building in the world.

Describing Sagrada Familia, art critic Rainer Zerbst said "it is probably impossible to find a church building anything like it in the entire history of art" and Paul Goldberger called it 'the most extraordinary personal interpretation of Gothic architecture since the Middle Ages'.

The Church will have three grand façades: the Nativity façade to the East, the Passion façade to the West, and the Glory façade to the South (yet to be completed).

Looks like dripping candle wax! Such an intricate design!

The three entrances symbolize the three virtues: Faith, Hope and Love.

Visitors can access the Nave, Crypt, Museum, Shop, and the Passion and Nativity towers. While visitors could previously access the towers directly at no cost, their access currently is possible only by lift and a walk up the remainder of the towers, over the bridge between the towers and descent via the opposite tower by spiral staircase.

The construction budget for 2009 was €18 million

Construction on Sagrada Família is not supported by any government or official church sources. Private patrons funded the initial stages. Money from tickets purchased by tourists is now used to pay for the work, and private donations are accepted through the Friends of the Sagrada Família.

The old and the new!

Spanish Word of the Day:
Iglesia meaning church

PEACE & LOVE,
Kevin & Amanda