Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
palm trees. You'll notice that the models don't always match the finished product—these
are ideas, not blueprints set in stone. The Passion Facade model (near the entrance) shows
Gaudí's original vision, with which Subirachs tinkered very freely (see here ) .
Turn up the main hallway. On the left you can peek into a busy workshop still used
for making the same kind of plaster models Gaudí used to envision the final product in
3-D. Farther along, a small hallway on the right leads to some original Gaudí architectural
sketches inadimlylitroomandaworthwhile20-minute movie (generallyshowninEnglish
at :50 past each hour).
Fromtheendofthishall,youhaveanotheropportunitytolookdownintothecryptandat
Gaudí'stomb. GaudílivedonthesiteformorethanadecadeandisburiedintheNeo-Goth-
ic 19th-century crypt (also viewable from the apse). There's a move afoot to make Gaudí a
saint. Perhaps someday his tomb will be a place of pilgrimage.
Back in the main hallway, on the right is the intriguing “Hanging Model” for Gaudí's
unfinished Church of Colònia Güell (in a suburb of Barcelona), featuring a similar design
to the Sagrada Família. The model illustrates how the architect used gravity to calculate the
arches that support the church. Wires dangle like suspended chains, forming perfect hyper-
bolic arches. Attached to these are bags, representing the weight the arches must support.
Flip these arches over, and they can bear the heavy weight of the roof. The mirror above the
model shows how the right-side-up church is derived from this. Across the hall is a small
exhibit commemorating Pope Benedict XVI 's 2010 consecration visit.
AfterpassingsomeoriginalsculpturesfromtheGloryFacade(ontheright)andcontinu-
ing beneath a huge plaster model, turn right to find three different visions for this church.
Notice how the arches evolved as Gaudí tinkered, from the original, pointy Neo-Gothic
arches, to parabolic ones, to the hyperbolic ones he eventually settled on. Also in this hall
are replicas of the pulpit and confessional that Gaudí, the micro-manager, designed for his
church. Before exiting at the far end of the hall, scan the photos (including one of the master
himself)andtimelineillustratinghowconstructionworkhasprogressedfromGaudí'sdayto
now.
• You'll exit near where you started, at the Passion Facade.
School: The small building outside the Passion Facade was a school Gaudí erected
forthechildrenoftheworkersbuildingthechurch.Todayitincludesmoreexhibitsaboutthe
design and engineering of the church, along with a classroom and a replica of Gaudí's desk
as it was the day he died. Pause for a moment to pay homage to the man who made all this
possible. Gaudí—a faithful Catholic whose medieval-style mysticism belied his Modernista
architecture career—was certainly driven to greatness by his passion for God.
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