The Basilica of Sagrada Familia is one of the most iconic landmarks in Barcelona. We had tickets for a guided tour and the trip up the Nativity tower for the morning of our second day in Barcelona. We’d seen pictures, of course, but nothing prepares you for the real view as we emerged from the subway station to see the view shown above!
The basilica has been under construction since 1882 and was Gaudi’s masterpiece. Gaudi died tragically in 1926, so he didn’t see much of it done. He created samples and designs for those that followed to use in his stead, but civil wars and uprisings destroyed many of them and damaged the building a few times. You can see the ornate designs in the images above. The fruit at the tops of the roof depict what was available in the holy land. Each of the large towers represents a member of the Sacred Family, including the Apostles, the Evangelists, the Virgin Mary, and the largest one in the center, Jesus. The plan is to finish the Jesus tower, the largest one, by the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death next year.
The tour group met at the base of the Nativity Facade, though we didn’t understand much of the symbolism at the time. We were just amazed at the ornate sculpture that made up the facade.
The tour guide took us to the model of the how the building will look when it is completed in 2033. Click the image to see it closer. You can see how enormous the Jesus tower will be!
The tour guide showed us how this Nativity facade showed the birth and life of Jesus. Animals also played a major role in the facade. We can see the two turtles that are supporting the columns as well as the two geckos on the wall. Then we entered the ornate doorway to the interior of the basilica. I have so many interior pictures, I will make that a separate post.
The tour then exited to the Passion facade, which we stayed pretty close to because of the pouring rain. This facade was done by a more modernist artist, so many angles and flat surfaces, but as stunning as the other side. The Passion facade depicts the stations of the cross. It also has a large statue of Jesus struggling with the cross in front of the stunning doors. Above it all, we see a gold Jesus ascending into heaven.
A few more pics, some from outside the fence. The amount of detail is incredible – everywhere you look, there is something meaningful. Notice also that Gaudi didn’t like purely vertical columns. He used columns with angles to help support the building.
Sadly, the rain started coming down pretty hard as we were inside the basilica, so we weren’t able to go up the Nativity tower. The towers have an elevator up, but the only way down is 400 steps, so they didn’t want to have people slipping. Of course, Apple’s Weather app swore that not only wasn’t it raining, but there had been no rain.
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