Sagrada Familia

The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (now that's a mouthful) has become one of the most famous buildings anywhere. Designed by Antoni Gaudí and still under construction, the stunningly unique church continues to inspire awe, at least it did in me.
Construction began in 1882 under a different architect who resigned a year later when Gaudí took over. The design concepts and models he developed still shape the design, even though he was directly involved in maybe 20% of the actual construction.
The 1st picture is another taken from Montjuïc (see another post) to set the church in its context. The next 2 picture are of the 2 completed facades. The 2nd picture is the nativity facade that Gaudí himself built. The 3rd picture is the death facade that focuses on the passion of Christ that has been completed since by others. The 3rd and final facade, the Glory facade and main entrance is in construction now.
All the rest of the pictures are inside that church. First a word about the stained glass that I'm told was all done by an abstract artist. The 3rd and 4th pictures were taken from the same spot, just 180° offset. It struck me that one side of the building had mostly blue and green hues in the glass while the other side has mostly red and orange.
The rest of the pictures are different views of the sacred space. I confess that I am unable to capture to magic (yes, I know that's a theologically inappropriate term) of the space. To quote a well known and time worn phrase: ya gotta see it to believe it. My travels have taken me to scores of churches around the world. None have struck me as deeply as this.Leer más