After wandering around down by the shore for a bit, we decided to head over to see La Sagrada Familia--a huge church designed by Gaudi, the famous architect (another must-see, according to Andi--and she was right).
La Sagrada Familia, which translates to "The Holy Family" in English, is a work in progress that has been under construction for over 100 years. It is an incredibly intricately designed church, and the artwork in the architecture is unbelievable. Some people think Gaudi's work is pretty over-the-top, and in some ways, I'd have to agree, but this church is already a sight to behold--I hope someday I can go back and see it when it's finished!
Cranes, cranes, everywhere!
The front facade is dedicated to the Passion of Christ--there are 14 different sculptures representing events that happened on the way to the Crucifixion (the Way of the Cross or the Stations of the Cross). This one is in the middle and it is the image of the cloth on which Veronica wiped Jesus's face. BEAUTIFUL!
The Crucifixion. These images are all very angular and bone-like--Gaudi's original design called for them to be that way so as not to romaticize the death of Christ.
Every little thing has symbolism at La Sagrada Familia. I am soooo glad I listened to Andi and paid for the audio tour--it was 100% worth the extra couple Euros to know what things were about. For example, the three steps represent the three days Jesus was in the tomb, etc.
Even the colors of the stained glass are symbolic!! (I wish I remembered what they all mean!)
An artist rendering/blueprint of what the church will look like upon completion. Even though Gaudi, the original architect, died just a few years into the project, the architects who have been commissioned to work on it after him have been faithful to his original plans and designs, often just putting their own little spin on his original intent. Awesome!
The pillars inside the church are designed to look like trees, so when you are inside and you look up, it feels like you're in a forest. Gaudi intensely studied nature and natural design to figure out the best ways to create his buildings, and many natural features, like these pillars, are included in his architecture.
This side facade is dedicated to the Nativity. There are three arches, one dedicated to Mary, representing Faith, one dedicated to Joseph, representing Hope, and one dedicated to Jesus, representing Love/Charity. They are obviously much "softer" than the front facade, dedicated to the Passion.
Each of the pillars is dedicated to a different apostle (there are four pillars on each of three sides). Then there are four taller pillars in the middle (or there will be), and they will be dedicated, one to each of the four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Then there will be an even taller pillar at the center of the four, and that one will be topped with four-bar cross. It will be dedicated to Jesus.
This is the workshop, under the church. They have scale models of the church as it will look upon completion. This is also where Gaudi's studio was.
This is part of a park, also designed by Gaudi, in Barcelona. It is called Parc Guell (pronounced Gw-eye). It is an INCREDIBLE place to walk around. It's unbelievable to be walking around a city park and see all these incredible mosaics, awesome architecture, sculpture, etc. Definitely a must-see, and a great place to have a picnic (which was how we ended our day!). It's a bit of a climb up some very steep streets to get there, but TOTALLY worth every step.
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