Barcelona information
La Sagrada Familia
La Sagrada Familia (the Holy Family) is truly
awe-inspiring - even if you don't have much time, don't miss it.
The life's work of Barcelona's favourite son, Antonio Gaudí, the
magnificent spires of the unfinished cathedral imprint themselves
boldly against the sky with swelling outlines inspired by the
holy mountain Montserrat. They are encrusted with a tangle of
sculptures that seem to breathe life into the stone.
Gaudí died in 1926 before his masterwork was completed, and since
then, controversy has continually dogged the building program.
Nevertheless, the southwestern façade (also called the
Passion façade), with four more towers, is almost done,
and the nave, begun in 1978, is progressing. Some say the shell
should have been left as a monument to the architect, but today's
chief architect, Jordi Bonet, argues that the task is a sacred
one, as it's a church intended to atone for sin and appeal to
God's mercy on Catalonia.