140 years of work and still building! Gaudi shepherded the work for over 40 years before his death at 73 years old. When he died, it was only 25% completed and had been in construction for almost 50 years. What a saga of dedication and perseverance. We are happy that the work has continued over the decades. It is getting much closer to completion and the date 2026 was being floated around for a completion date but Covid put an end to that goal. 2026 will be the 100th year after Gaudi died so it seemed like a great time to get this thing done. The immensity of the building and the work and effort that went into it leaves me without words.
Goose statue
Sidewalk knife sharpening, powered by this man's scooter
The Nativity façade is the oldest part of the exterior
Gaudi himself was able to see this section built over 100 years ago
The details were amazing
Gaudi was in his 70's and wanted this section to be a design guide for those that follow him
So many details
Wowzers!
The doors!
Everywhere we looked, thee was some interesting detail waiting for us to discover
This turtle faces the sea, another land turtle is on the other side and it faces the mountains
This is the huge expanse that greets the visitor
A building this large can have huge windows
Not only are the windows very large
There is a large number of them
The light from the stained glass windows was glorious
The alter has the Christ figure suspended in mid air
The columns spread out on the tops like trees
Looking straight up
Looking back the the nativity façade side of the building
This window had all the colors
There may be a story being told here but it is too abstract for me to identify
Reds and yellows
Super bright with the light pouring in
Blues and greens
Along this wall
Throwing color onto the ceiling and walls
The four secondary towers are topped with symbols, this is to represent John
This is the spiral staircase leading down from the vantage point up top
There are 504 steps to get down!
Layers and layers of structural ceilings
The red on the bottom is striking
This is to represent Matthew
In the basement there was an entire section dealing with the windows
So much area illuminated
It can be overwhelming
The ceiling is green
St George with a curtain of roses
April 23rd is the day of the rose and the book in celebration of St George the patron Saint of Catalonia. Our visit is the 24th so we are seeing many of the items put in place for the special day
One grand vista
Peeking out through the columns
A blast of color from the topmost windows
The center has Loreto spelled out and each arm has another shrine name in it
The names of shrines around the world
What a dis[pplay
Most amazing
Have a sit down
A picture of a picture of the lion head going up on top
Holy clam shell water holder
Big Day in Catalonia!
St George himself
Yet more stained glass
20 meters tall at the least
So many reds here
Mary
Cool blue
Another spiral staircase
Down in the crypt
this place just is immense
A confessional booth
Allegorical but abstract too
Something intense
The spiral staircase. It for folks to get down from the towers
More illuminated passage ways
Steps built into the back for someone to climb and place candles
A serious candelabra
Back in the knave
This is the monogram that hung over the chapel in Casa Batllo
Not a kids slide!
A fine cieling
The "china" cabinet for the church containing liturgical objects
All the windows are clear and the light gives this area a different feel
The door out!
