I cannot do Barcelona justice without a salute to its most incredible cathedral--La Sagrada Famiglia. (The Holy Family) Started by Francesc di Paula Villar, it was to be a cathedral unlike any other. In 1883, Antoni Gaudi took over the architectural reins and created a masterpiece so vast in scope and height, that he knew he wouldn't live to see it finished. His philosophy of imitating nature (to the extreme) is evident in the small details--birds, fishes, and waves he included in his creations. He was a geometry buff too--using parabolas and hyperbolas as his structural foundations. In the museum, there was an upside-down model of the cathedral using string and weights. This was how Gaudi figured out the angles, heights, archways, supports, and structural formulas for the entire building!
On the Nativity facade (top middle and bottom left pictures), you can see trees, leaves, and flowers among the Holy Family, Wise Men, Shepherd, and Angels playing music. Every surface is covered with something, every inch painstakingly carved. From a distance it looks very messy, but up close it is amazingly detailed. On the Passion facade (bottom center photo), you can tell an entirely different sculptor created this side. It is stark, angled, and abrupt. The top right picture is a golden statue of Christ sitting on a bridge high above the facade. This represents His ascension into Heaven.
The top left photo is a scale model of the nave of the building. It is enormous! I can't even begin to describe how overwhelmingly huge the cathedral is--let alone the multiple models created. The cathedral is going to be dedicated in three days--November 11, by the Pope himself. Everyone in Barcelona is so excited to have the Pope come to dedicate this amazing building. Even after the dedication, however, work will continue on the towers until 2026, on the centennial anniversary of Gaudi's death.
Completed, it will have twelve "small" towers, one for each of the apostles, four "medium" towers (you can see them in the top middle photo behind me) for the evangelists, one tall tower for Mary and one over 525 feet tall for Jesus. Those two are still being constructed, although you can see the Mary tower rising on the right-hand side of that same picture. The plan is to have an elevator that would be able to take you to the top of the Jesus tower--what an incredible view that would have!
On the Nativity facade (top middle and bottom left pictures), you can see trees, leaves, and flowers among the Holy Family, Wise Men, Shepherd, and Angels playing music. Every surface is covered with something, every inch painstakingly carved. From a distance it looks very messy, but up close it is amazingly detailed. On the Passion facade (bottom center photo), you can tell an entirely different sculptor created this side. It is stark, angled, and abrupt. The top right picture is a golden statue of Christ sitting on a bridge high above the facade. This represents His ascension into Heaven.
The top left photo is a scale model of the nave of the building. It is enormous! I can't even begin to describe how overwhelmingly huge the cathedral is--let alone the multiple models created. The cathedral is going to be dedicated in three days--November 11, by the Pope himself. Everyone in Barcelona is so excited to have the Pope come to dedicate this amazing building. Even after the dedication, however, work will continue on the towers until 2026, on the centennial anniversary of Gaudi's death.
Completed, it will have twelve "small" towers, one for each of the apostles, four "medium" towers (you can see them in the top middle photo behind me) for the evangelists, one tall tower for Mary and one over 525 feet tall for Jesus. Those two are still being constructed, although you can see the Mary tower rising on the right-hand side of that same picture. The plan is to have an elevator that would be able to take you to the top of the Jesus tower--what an incredible view that would have!
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