History Of Sagrada Familia

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Located in Barcelona, Spain, the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family) or Sagrada Familia is a large Roman Catholic Church created by architect Antoni Gaudi. Sagrada Familia, also known as the holy family, would be devoted to “The Holy Family” Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph. Despite the church not being fully completed, it is still a top tourist attraction in Spain. The government does not support the project, making the visitors an important source of income. An estimate of 2 million tourists visits this site each year. (9. "Sagrada Familia” “Worldsiteguides.com”). The church is an enormously successful synthesis of bravery, invention, both classical and gothic form, geometry, piety, and of linking our contemporary world and our technologies with an extraordinary historical precedent.
The groundbreaking of the building was in 1882, about 132 years ago, and it still hasn’t been completed. When Antoni died in 1926, the Sagrada Familia was about 25% complete. The construction of the building would continue for 10 more years until it was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Multiple parts of Gaudi’s original model of Sagrada Familia had been lost or destroyed during the war. The anti-religious political atmosphere in Barcelona was not favorable to completing a "church". The group of architects who wanted to complete the church could not decide on how it should be completed. Some early attempts at completion were totally panned by critics or insulted the populace. Since 1940 the architects, Francesc Quinana, Lluis Bonet, Francis Cardoner, and Isidre Puig Boada have carried on the work. (7. "Sagrada Familia." De Barcelona). Since the 1980’s, current de...

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The interior of the Sagrada Familia is extraordinary. It is a kaleidoscope of light, darkness, and form. The ceiling has geometric shapes and fracturing of shapes as color is coming in from the stained glass windows. Many would say that walking into Sagrada Familia is like walking into a stone forest. Light is also entering from the clear glass along the nave and it has the sense of the effect of dappled sunlight coming through a forest. The individual piers, of traditional Gothic architecture, are extremely complex. Each pier is paired with another and within the individual units there is an incredible geometric complexity. The church is an enormously successful synthesis of bravery, invention, both classical and gothic form, geometry, piety, and of linking our contemporary world and our technologies with an extraordinary historical precedent.

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