It was in 1881 when, thanks to donations obtained by the Spiritual Association of the Devotees of St. Joseph, a 12,800 square meter plot of land was purchased in the center of Barcelona. This is how the story of the Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia one of the most impressive temples in the world and a must-see if you are lucky enough to spend a few days in Barcelona.
The expiatory temple of the Sagrada Familia was initially designed by the architect Francesc de Paula Villar, who due to numerous divergences regarding its design and the cost of materials, was quickly dismissed a year after his hiring.
The first design was based on the architectural style of the time: Neo-Gothic, and was dominated by dominant elements of the period such as pointed windows, exterior buttresses and buttresses and a large, tapering bell tower.
With the dismissal of Villar, in 1882, a young architect named Antoni Gaudi the opportunity is given to a young architect named Antoni Gaudí, who gives it a new identity, transforming the original project into a marvelous futuristic proposal for the time in which it was conceived, who gave it a new identity, transforming the original project into a wonderful proposal for a futuristic temple for the time in which it was conceived.
And this is how the beautiful story of Gaudí’s Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. A temple that remains unfinished to this day and for its construction, so far, has required the intervention of 8 different architects. As we are sure you would like to visit it, we are going to tell you all about its history so that you can contemplate it with greater admiration.
Gaudí’s project
To understand the personality of the design of the Sagrada Familia it is necessary to understand why Gaudí was considered an innovative and advanced architect for his time. His designs were based on trial-and-error testing, giving much more importance to mock-ups than to blueprints. This gave him a contemplation of the natural state of his designs, which he then reflected by translating them into reality.
Thanks to this, today we can contemplate this temple, unique in the world, which represents the history of faith and the life of Jesus. that represents the history of the faith and the life of Jesus.. The project contemplates the construction of 18 towers, all of them as a tribute to the main characters of the Bible. The apostles are represented in 12 of them, 4 are dedicated to the evangelists, 1 to the Virgin Mary and the most important, the one dedicated to Jesus Christ.
The latter represents grandeur and will be topped with a cross that will rise 172 meters high. In this way, will become the tallest building in Barcelona and the church that will be and the church that will be the closest to heaven in the world.
If you know Gaudí’s biography, you will know that he never saw the finished work. Unfortunately, Gaudí was only able to see the construction of the first bell tower corresponding to the Nativity façade completed, as in 1926 he died as a result of being run over by a streetcar. From this point on, one of his disciples, the architect Domènec Sugranyes, took over from him and became the first of the architects in charge of finalizing Gaudí’s design.
Evolution of the Sagrada Familia
Today we can enjoy the Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia almost by chance. At the beginning of the Civil War, in 1936, different acts of vandalism took place in the temple where numerous original plans and photographs were lost and the original plaster models were destroyed.
It was not until the end of the war, in 1939, that work could continue with a certain degree of normality. Francesc de Paula Quintana is now in charge of directing the works and, thanks to the material that could be saved and to the published plans and photographs, the original design could be reconstructed and allowed to continue with the evolution of the Sagrada Familia.
The Sagrada Familia consists of three FaCades, in 1952 the staircase designed on the Nativity façade was built and it was illuminated for the first time. And two years later, work began on the Passion façade.
At this point, it is necessary to emphasize that this construction has the character of an expiatory temple. has the character of an expiatory temple. This means that the sources of income for its construction must come from private contributions and donations. The first collection for this purpose took place in 1955, and this allowed that 3 years later, the famous sculpture La Sagrada Familia was installed on the facade of the Nativity Scene.
To this day, we still can not contemplate the Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia finished. The towers of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary are currently being completed and both are already taller than the rest of the building. Every effort is being made to finish the temple in 1926, a date that pays homage to its main architect, commemorating the centenary of his death.
Everyone is looking forward to the date, because there is no doubt that the Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia represents one of the most beautiful constructions ever built and an architectural work that, due to its peculiarities and masterful design, may be considered one of the wonders of humanity.
