Monday, October 25, 2021

Barcelona: Born Area Beautiful Design Flat Old Town Centre (Airbnb), Day 3 of 8

Walking Route: Apartment to the Basilica de la Sagrada de Familia and back, apartment to the Mercado la Boquerio and back, 8 miles

The Basilica de la Sagrada de Familia is Antoni Gaudi's largest and most famous contribution. Work on the church began in 1882, following a neo-Gothic design created by archdiocesan architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. A year later, Gaudi took over the project, completing the foundation and crypt proposed by Villar but imposing his own unique designs on the remainder of the structure. 

Gaudi worked on the church for over 40 years, until his death in 1926. He designed the basic layout of the temple, and completed construction on the Nativity facade and one of the 12 planned towers (one for each of the 12 apostles). Since his death, various architects, engineers, and artisans have completed parts of the church, using Gaudi's original plans and vision as a base but adding their own interpretations and artistry.

The Nativity facade and crypt were given UNESCO World Heritage status in 2005. The church was consecrated and opened to the public in 2010. When Ken and I visited in October 2021, work was being completed on the tower of the Virgin Mary, in anticipation of its opening scheduled for November 2021.

Since the church's opening in 2010, masses are held in the crypt, and are free to anyone who wishes to attend. At one point, it was hoped that the basilica could be completed by 2026, the centenary of Gaudi's death. That is not going to happen. Work goes on at a steady pace, but at this point, there is no specific end date.

The church is laid out in a traditional cross shape, with the apse and altar at its head, two side entrances (the Nativity facade and the Passion facade), and a main entrance (the Glorious facade) at the base. The apse and side facades are complete enough to visit. Work on the Glorious facade has been delayed because after 1882, apartments were built just outside the main entrance of the church; before the entrance can be built, the residents of the apartments must be relocated and the apartments demolished.

It is hard to capture in words or pictures the experience of our visit to the church. We were swept away by the uplifting columns, the shifting light, the airiness and spirituality of the site. We were awed by the ability of modern architecture and art and engineering to create such an intense and timeless place of worship.

Gaudi's design included four bell towers at each of the three entrances to the church, plus three taller bell towers (The towers of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and the Evangelists).

The Passion facade.

The focus of the apse is the cross of Jesus Christ suspended from a baldachin--a heptagonal canopy representing the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

Angels announcing Christ's birth on the Nativity facade.

The three wise men.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

The shepherds.

The stained glass windows in the nave (long axis) of the church were built to Gaudi's original specifications for color and meaning, but were refined by later architects and artisans and have a more modernist, cleaner quality.

The windows in the Nativity facade were designed by Gaudi and completed during his lifetime. They have a depth and style that are unique to the architect.

The colors of the windows represent natural elements: earth, fire, and water; summer, fall, and winter.

Sant Marc is represented as a lion.

The inside of the Glorious facade is covered with a translucent screen and a large metal door. The handles of the door spell AG (for Antoni Gaudi).

Gaudi designed the support columns like trees, using models to test out the load bearing of the arches. The result is a feeling that you are in a forest of immensely tall trees with a lacey canopy letting in shafts of sunlight at brilliant angles.

Within the church, the columns lining the aisle are substantial granite, varying in color from cool blue to warm red. The columns nearer the outside walls are narrower and built of sandstone, designed to carry less of a burden in supporting the structure.

Staircases give access to the choir gallery that circles the side and back of the church. The gallery can hold 600 singers. Imagine the sound that would fill the church.