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| Barcelona famous church La Sagrada Família | |||
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 he Sagrada Famila is a cathedral that was started more than 100 years ago and remains only approximately 50% complete. Four massive towers that have an extreme organic feel to them stretch high into the Barcelona sky. The towers are decorated with more than 300 different identifiable plants and animals. Between the towers on the east side of the church is carved a Cyprus tree, the sign of eternal life that is decorated in a rich green tile. The cathedral is dedicated to the Holy Family, and a scene of the birth of Jesus is located under the Cyprus tree.
La Sagrada Família is truly awe-inspiring - even if you don't have much time in Barcelona, don't miss it. Practically the life's work of Barcelona's favourite son, Antoni Gaudí, the magnificent spires of the unfinished cathedral imprint themselves boldly against the sky with swelling outlines inspired by the holy mountain Montserrat. They are encrusted with a tangle of sculptures that seem to breathe life into the stone. Antoni Gaudí is internationally recognized as the most famous Modernist architect.
It is a Roman Catholic church planned initially (1882) as a neo-gothic sanctuary. After disagreements between the founding association and the original architect Francesc del Villar, Gaudi was assigned the project in 1884 and created an entirely new design. He devoted over 40 years of his life and the last 15 entirely to this endeavour. As the building proceeded higher and higher to the top the style got more and more fantastic with four spindle-shaped towers that can be likened to termite's nests or children's drip sand castles. They are crowned with geometrically shaped tops that are probably under the influence of cubism (they were finished around 1920). There are also many complicated decorations that are said to be in the style of art nouveau. 
Gaudi died in 1926 before the church was completed, the towers were originally to be three times higher. Parts of the unfinished building and Gaudi's models and workshop were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War. Gaudi left no further plans and work on the privately owned church has been episodic. Since 1940 architects Franscesc Quintana, Puig Boada, Lluis Gari have carried on the work. Sculptures by J. Busquets and the controversial Josep Subirachs decorate the fantastical facade.
Nevertheless, the southwestern (Passion) facade, with four more towers, is almost done, and the nave, begun in 1978, is progressing. Some say the shell should have been left as a monument to the architect, but today's chief architect, Jordi Bonet, argues that the task is a sacred one, as it's a church intended to atone for sin and appeal to God's mercy on Catalunya. It is one of the city's most visited sights that is bound to leave you amazed. Another of the city's attractions inspired by Gaudi is Parc Guell; a garden covering a hill to the north if the city and offering some great views. Worldroom: Barcelona City Guide Barcelona Weather: | |||
