La Sagrada Família, Barcelona, Spain

The Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) started being built in 1882. However, the project had actually been launched in 1874, with a campaign to collect funds for the construction of a temple dedicated to the Holy Family.
The first architect of the project was Francisco de Paula del Vilar y Lozano but, due to disagreements with the promoters, he resigned and was replaced by Antonio Gaudi.
Gaudi directly supervised the project from 1887 until his death, in 1926. In the 1890s, after receiving a substantial anonymous donation he proposed a new and grander design more monumental and innovative, both regarding the form and the structure as well as the construction.
Gaudi's conception of the Sagrada Familia was based on the traditions of Gothic and Byzantine cathedrals; his intention was to express Christian belief through architecture. Each of the 18 towers has a special significance: in the middle is the tower dedicated to Jesus and around this tower are four towers representing the gospels; the tower above the apse, crowned by a star represents Mother Mary while the remaining 12 towers represent apostles. The verticality symbolises elevation towards God. Each one of the three portals represents a crucial event in Christ's life; his birth, his Passion, death and Ressurection, and his present and future glory. The inside of the temple resembles a wood, a place of introspection and prayer.
By the end of his life, Gaudi was so involved in the project that he did not undertake any other major work. The only tower that Gaudi saw complete was the bell tower dedicated to Saint Barnabas, finished in 1925. During the Civil War, revolutionaries set fire to the crypt and destroyed the workshop. Original plans, drawings and photos were lost.
However, work in the Sagrada Familia, although disrupted, never came to a complete stop. People who directly collaborated with Gaudi were in charge until 1983 and were able to continue construction according to Gaudi's original plans.
In 2010 the temple was consecrated by H.H. Pope Benedict XVI as a place of worship. As of 2017, 70% of the project has been concluded and is expected to be fully complete by 2020.

Opening hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov-Feb; to 7 p.m. Mar and Oct; to 8 p.m. Apr-Sep.
Entrance fee: There are several options and you can buy your ticket online here (advised, as queues can be long, and you might only get tickets for hours later). The basic ticket, which just gives you access to the church, is €15.
How to go: Sagrada Familia metro station.







Local: Carrer de Mallorca, 401, 08013 Barcelona, Espanha

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