First time i visited the Sagrada Familia was in 2001, and a revisit in 2012.
I still remember well how much of a construction site it was in 2001. The nave itself was not accessible, but climbing the Bell towers on the Passion façade, or Nativity, was possible in small groups. The progress that has been made in 23 years is simply amazing. (and not to forget that the first cornerstone was laid in 1882)
The photo of star of this blog post is the ‘Star of the Virgin Mary’. A true milestone of the construction in November 2021.
Was Antoni Gaudí a dreamer, a genius, a madman or an architect?
He wasn’t just the sum of it but the product of them all which made him the couturier of beautiful masterpieces.
That is probably why Gaudí is sometimes described as the “Dante of architecture”.
The amount of detail, both inside and outside, is simply fabulous.
If you like brutalism or straight structures, you will have to adapt, because there is little that is straight in Gaudi’s work.
Walking through the nave, it feels like you are strolling through a petrified fairytale forest.
Fun fact. Gaudí never wore new shoes. Because he hated the discomfort, he had his brother run them in for him.
When is the best time to visit the Sagrada Familia? Well, you should actually go twice. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon, because the atmosphere in the basilica changes dramatically depending on the position of the sun and the coloured stained-glass windows.
The Basilica is set to be completed in 2026. But work on sculptures and other details, including a stairway, will probably continue until 2034.
That means we can go back two more times to see the evolution.
Because construction has taken so long, renovation work has had to happen. Some of the original Spanish limestone has already had to be cleaned using a special laser. The current limestone comes from China and is impregnated to withstand exhaust fumes and acid rain.
Which would greatly improve the general maintenance of the structure.
When you say Barcelona, you naturally also say good food. And my personal favourite remains Jamon. Quite by chance, we also ended up at Mama Gorda, a free style restaurant in barrio de Gràcia. Apparently, it’s a trendy place. And what do you eat when the weather is nice? Ice cream, of course, at one of the numerous ice cream shops.
