Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
spellingout
'Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Hosanna in Excelsis, Amen, Alleluia'
.Askedwhyhe
lavishedsomuchcareonthetopsofthespires,whichnoonewouldseefromcloseup,Gaudí
answered: 'The angels will see them.'
Three sections of the portal represent, from left to right, Hope, Charity and Faith. Among the
forest of sculpture on the Charity portal you can see, low down, the manger surrounded by
an ox, an ass, the shepherds and kings, and angel musicians. Some 30 different species of
plant from around Catalonia are reproduced here, and the faces of the many figures are taken
fromplastercastsdoneoflocalpeopleandtheoccasionalonemadefromcorpsesinthelocal
morgue.
Directly above the blue stained-glass window is the archangel Gabriel's Annunciation to
Mary. At the top is a green cypress tree, a refuge in a storm for the white doves of peace dot-
ted over it. The mosaic work at the pinnacle of the towers is made from Murano glass, from
Venice.
TotherightofthefacadeisthecuriousClaustredelRoser,aGothicstylemini-cloistertacked
on to the outside of the church (rather than the classic square enclosure of the great Goth-
ic church monasteries). Once inside, look back to the intricately decorated entrance. On the
lower right-hand side you'll notice the sculpture of a reptilian devil handing a terrorist a
bomb. Barcelona was regularly rocked by political violence, and bombings were frequent in
the decades prior to the civil war. The sculpture is one of several on the 'temptations of men
and women'.
sagrada-familia-ihjpg
Passion Facade
The southwest Passion Facade, on the theme of Christ's last days and death, was built
between 1954 and 1978 based on surviving drawings by Gaudí, with four towers and a large,
sculpture-bedecked portal. The sculptor, Josep Subirachs, worked on its decoration from
1986 to 2006. He did not attempt to imitate Gaudí, rather, producing angular, controversi-
al images of his own. The main series of sculptures, on three levels, are in an S-shaped se-
quence, starting with the Last Supper at the bottom left and ending with Christ's burial at the
topright.DecorativeworkonthePassionFacadecontinueseventoday,asconstructionofthe
Glory Facade moves ahead.
To the right, in front of the Passion Facade, the Escoles de Gaudí is one of his simpler gems.
Gaudí built this as a children's school, creating an original, undulating roof of brick that con-
