Barcelona Attractions

Sagrada Familia Barcelona

In Barcelona, a wonderful city in the Catalonia area of Spain stands the magnificent Roman Catholic Church called the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia.

Translated to English this means Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family, however the church is affectionately known as Sagrada Familia to all who visit her.

The Sagrada Familia is currently still under construction even though work initially began as far back as 1882. Antoni Gaudi, the famous artist and architect, created the original design and devoted most of his adult life to work on the construction.

He lived from 1852 to 1926 and handed the reigns over to another outstanding architect, Domenech Sugranyes, upon his death in 1926.

The design of this great building is particularly interesting to the Christian world and was intended by Gaudi to be the last great sanctuary of Christendom. The interior is set out in the shape of a Latin Cross with five aisles and a central nave vault leading off to side nave vaults.

The side nave vaults reach 30 meters while the central nave vault is even greater at 45 meters; however the central vault of the church reaches an astounding 60 meters. Gaudi designed the interior columns which rest on a 7.5 meter grid, part of which are on del Villar`s foundations, namely those of the apse.

A great hyperboloid is supported by four central columns of porphyry and surrounded by 2 rings of 12 more hyperboloids and atop the apse is a further hyperboloid reaching a staggering 75 meters. Part of this is still under construction. however, Gaudi`s intention was that a man standing at the main entrance would be able to take in the full glory of the construction of nave vaults, apse and crossings.

There are three facades to the Church. The Passion facade to the West is mostly the work of Josep Maria Subirachs and portrays the faces of pained and tormented characters as well as a figure of Christ being beaten and tormented. Subirach`s work always caused controversy and these designs were no exception. The Nativity facade to the East has the distinct influence of Gaudi and work on this was abruptly halted immediately before the Spanish Civil War of 1936.

Finally the Glory facade to the South is currently still under construction and therefore is as yet, incomplete. The towers of the Church are perhaps the most famous feature. There are 18 spindle shaped towers representing the twelve Apostles in ascension, the four Evangelists, the Virgin Mary and towering over all these is Jesus Christ.

The funding for the initial construction work of Sagrada Familia was donated by private patrons, however, the Church has become a major tourist attraction for Barcelona attracting up to 2.5 million visitors a year and the on going construction work is paid for largely from the entrance fees and donations of these tourists.

Although still under construction, the Church is visually stunning and to coincide with the anniversary or Gaudi`s death, 100 years ago, the building work is hopefully anticipated to be completed by approximately 2026.