The ABC of Gaudí's great dream
1) Similar to what could happen with the football Clásicos, the Sagrada Familia has an intimate enemy in the Alhambra in Granada for being the most visited monument in Spain. The last stake, that of 2014, was won by the red fortress with 2.4 million visitors, but the fight in the years to come promises to be fierce.
two) Yes, indeed, it is the building under construction most instagrammed and admired in the world.
3) It is expected to be completed in 2026 , 144 years after the foundation stone was laid. An almost record in Spanish temples since, for example, the cathedral of Burgos 'only' needed 39 years (in its first version, later more additions arrived) and that of Seville about 102 years (according to what theory). Of course, it is still very far from the champion par excellence of this ranking, the Cathedral of Toledo with 287 years of scaffolding and pulleys.
It is one of the most photographed monuments in the city
4) Although it looks like it, it is not a cathedral. In fact, it is a temple built 100% with donation money , so its exact name is that of Expiatory Temple of the Sacred Family.
5) So many years getting up have turned her into a direct witness to the growth of Barcelona. The site where it was built was just outside the outskirts of a new neighborhood called Eixample. Today it could be part of the city center.
6) In what it is leader in Spain is in the prices of your visit , costing the cheapest €15 since it benefits from not being, yet, a church dedicated to worship.
It is scheduled to be completed in 2026
7) Their skyline is starring 18 towers. The sum is simple: 12 apostles + 4 evangelists + the Virgin + Jesus.
8) Gaudí's initial idea was that the tower of Jesus, the tallest, would rise even above 300 meters in height, which would make it as tall as Montjuic. Nevertheless, the definitive height of said summit is 172.50 meters.
9) In addition, it measures 90 meters long by 60 wide.
10) Needless to say that it is impossible to find a straight line in the whole building since his architect did not trust these lines because they are not present in nature.
His 'skyline' is made up of 18 towers
eleven) It's probably about one of the works with the most fathers in the world . As much as Gaudí was its creator and that he left some very well defined maps, the temple has up to 9 construction managers with a team behind that adds up to more than twenty architects and engineers.
12) Of course, what is signed in its entirety by Gaudí (Nativity façade and Crypt) It already has its recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. when, in 2005, the number of buildings designed by the brilliant architect protected by this recognition was increased.
13) Despite being a religious, Christian, apostolic and Roman temple, good old Antoni allowed himself the luxury of adding to the Nativity Facade some pagan references such as the exact position of the stars when Christ was born as well as the first six signs of the Zodiac.
It is UNESCO World Heritage
14) There is also a pelican holding his young in his lap, a symbol that coincides with that of the 18th Degree of the Freemasons.
fifteen) But Gaudí was not the only one who carved 'strange' elements on his walls. Josep Maria Subirachs drew on the Passion façade a magic square of order 4 where the sum of its numbers in each row, column and diagonal (also called the magic constant) is 33. Exactly the age of Christ when he died, or also the umpteenth nod to Freemasonry in this work, since there are 33 traditional degrees.
16) The fact that each part of the temple has a different style is not a betrayal of its creator, in fact, Gaudí himself planned that each generation mark its own architectural style in the work.
Each part of the temple is of a different style
17) Gaudí is buried in his crypt, which suggests the importance of this work for its creator as well as the close link between the two.
18) How could it be otherwise , The Alan Parsons Project he dedicated an entire song to him within his tribute album to Gaudí called Gaudí.
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Gaudí is buried here