View to Above | Sagrada Familia

Alice
Feb 6, 2016
2 min read

The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família is a large Roman Catholic church in heart of Barcelona and was designed by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí, with construction beginning in March 1882.

The Holy Family, or the Sagrada Familia, date back to 1866 when Josep Maria Bocabella i Verdaguer conceived the Spiritual Association of Devotees of Saint Joseph, which in 1874 began campaigning for a cathedral, or temple dedicated specifically to the family. In 1881, after private investment, the Association purchased a 12,800m² plot of land and the first stone was laid on St Joseph’s day, 19 March, 1882.

The original Neo-gothic design drawn up by the architect Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano, the Sagrada Familia’s first architect, however, disagreements with stakeholder led to his resignation as chief architect and the job fell to Antoni Gaudí, which he began in 1883.

In 1909 he built a school on site for the workers children, and in 1914 he ceased working on any other project. The Sagrada Familia being he last major work.

In 1923 he produced the final design for the naves and roofs. and the first bell tower on the Nativity facade, 100 metres high and dedicated to Saint Barnabus, was finished on 30 November 1925. This was the only tower Gaudí saw completed. On 10 June 1926 he died as a result of injuries sustained three days earlier when he was tragically knocked down by a tram. On 12 June he was buried in the Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia, where his mortal remains rest to this day.

Gaudi's masterpiece includes architectural styles from Noucentisme, Spanish Gothic architecture, Modern architecture, Modernism, to Art Nouveau.

Whilst reading the facts of how the Sagrada Família has become what we see today, nothing prepares you for the sheer wonder of how the interior of such a marvellous building makes you feel. You wonder whether you have fallen into a kaleidoscope, so tiny and insignificant, but also in awe of man's capabilities to create and built something of such wonder. The colours of the stained glass windows, casting rainbow glazes across the floor cannot be described of photographed to any matching magnitude, and the detail in the facades in breath taking.

Looking up from the nave, you feel like you are reaching into the sky itself and you might just be sucked into its light. The experience is spell binding and breath taking. A wonder to behold.