SAGRADA FAMILIA

(A SACRED HOUSE )
sagrada familia =holy family

The Baslica Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Famlia is a large Roman Catholic

church in Barcelona, designed by the spanish architect Antoni Gaud (18521926).
Construction of Sagrada Famlia commenced in 1882 and Gaud became involved in
1883,taking over the project and transforming it with his architectural and
engineering style, combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms
Sagrada Famlia's construction progressed slowly, as it relied on private donations
and was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War.
The Basilica of the Sagrada Famlia was the inspiration of a bookseller, Josep Maria
Bocabella .
After a visit to the Vatican in 1872, Bocabella returned from Italy with the intention
of building a church.The crypt of the church, funded by donations, was begun on 19th of March 1882, on the festival of St Joseph, based on the design of the architect
Francisco de Paula del Villar, whose plan was for a Gothic revival church of a
standard form. Antoni Gaud began work on the church in 1883 but was not
appointed Architect Director until 1884.
On 19-th of April 2011,an arsonist started a small fire in the sacristy which forced the
evacuation of tourists and construction workers; the sacristy was damaged, and the
fire took 45 minutes to contain.
The style of la Sagrada Famlia is linked to Spanish Late Gothic, Catalan Modernism
and to Art Nouveau or Catalan Noucentisme. While the Sagrada Famlia falls with in
the Art Nouveau , Gaud carried the Art Nouveau style far beyond its usual
application as a surface decoration.
The church plan is that of a Latin cross with five aisles. The central nave vaults reach
forty-five metres (150 ft) while the side nave vaults reach thirty metres (100 ft). The
transept has three aisles. The columns are on a 7.5 metre (25 ft) grid.
1Eternal contruction site

Officially, La Sagrada Familia would be finished in 2026, when the 100th anniversary
of the death of Antonio Gaudi. Catalan architect oversaw the construction of the
basilica for 40 years, by the date of his death only one tower of the basilica had been
raised. 1926, the project was continued by another architect.
2. Plans lost
In 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, the basilica was attacked and the workshop
where sketches and plans made by Gaudi were destroyed. They have been
reconstructed from other sources, but the originals disappearance sparked controversy
because many argue now that the Sagrada Familia will be finished and will not look
like i't creator wanted .
3. God's Architect
Gaudi once joked saying that God, his client is in no hurry to see basilica finished.
The architect who has devoted over four decades of his life to this project, the
Sagrada Familia is believed divine mission. Gaudi died at age 74 in 1926 after an
accident - he was hit by a tram.Poorly dressed and undocumented, Gaud was not
recognized, and taken as a beggar.He was not given immediate medical attention. He
died three days after the accident and was buried in the crypt of his basilica.
4. How will basilica look
La Sagrada Familia now has eight towers, but at the end basilica project will have 18
towers, the tallest one will be 170 meters tall. Small towers symbolizing the 12
apostles of Jesus, four of them representing authors of the Gospels and the two large
towers representing Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
5. Seen from the sky
Gaudi was once asked why so much effort and time put to them elaborate towers
since no one will be able to admire from above. The architect responded that "Angels
will see."