Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The angled columns form many
arches.
You'll see both parabolas (u-shaped) and hy-
perbolas (flatter, elliptical shapes). Gaudí's starting point was the Gothic pointed arch used
in medieval churches. But he tweaked it after meticulous study of which arches are best at
bearing weight.
Little
windows
let light filter in like the canopy of a rainforest, giving both privacy and
anintimateconnectionwithGod.Theclearglassistemporaryandwillgraduallybereplaced
by stained glass. As more and more stained glass is installed, splashes of color will breathe
even more life into this amazing space. Gaudí envisioned an awe-inspiring canopy with a
symphony of colored light to encourage a contemplative mood.
High up at the back half of the church, the U-shaped
choir
—suspended above the
nave—can seat 1,000. The singers will eventually be backed by four organs (there's one
now).
Work your way up the grand nave, walking through this forest of massive columns. At
the center of the church stand four
red porphyry columns,
each marked with an Evangel-
ist's symbol and name in Catalan: angel (Mateu), lion (Marc), bull (Luc), and eagle (Joan).
These columns support a ceiling vault that's 200 feet high—and eventually will also sup-
port the central steeple, the 560-foot Jesus tower with the shining cross. The steeple will be
further supported by four underground pylons, each consisting of 8,000 tons of cement. It
will be the tallest church steeple in the world, though still a few feet shorter than the city's
highest pointatthesummit ofMontjuïc hill, asGaudíbelieved that acreation ofmanshould
not attempt to eclipse the creation of God.
Stroll behind the altar through the
ambulatory
to see videos of the 2010 consecration
Mass, and look through windows down at the
crypt
(which holds the tomb of Gaudí). Peer-
ing down into that surprisingly traditional space, imagine how the church was started as a
fairly conventional, 19th-century Neo-Gothic building until Gaudí was given the responsib-
ility to finish it.
• Head to the far end of the church, to what will eventually be the main entrance. Just inside
the door, find the
bronze model
of the eventual floor plan of the completed church. Facing
the doors, look high up to see Subirachs' statue of one of Barcelona's patron saints,
Jordi.
Go through the doors to imagine what will someday be the...
Glory Facade:
As you exit, study the fine
bronze door,
emblazoned with the Lord's
Prayer in Catalan, surrounded by “Give us this day our daily bread” in 50 languages. Once
outside, you'll be face-to-face with...drab, doomed apartment blocks. In the 1950s, the may-
or of Barcelona, figuring this day would never really come, sold the land destined for the
church project. Now the city must buy back these buildings in order to complete Gaudí's
vision: that of a grand esplanade leading to this main entry. Four towers will rise up. The
facade'ssculpturewillrepresenthowthesoulpassesthroughdeath,facestheLastJudgment,
