Secrets of the Sagrada Family

Sagrada Familia isn't even a Cathedral

Numerous individuals accept that this tremendous expand Gaudí building must be Barcelona's principle Cathedral—yet not really! The Sagrada Familia is in certainty a Basilica, which means a Church that had been allowed exceptional status by the Pope. Just places of worship that are home to a priest can be called Cathedrals; Barcelona's can be found in the core of the Barri Gótic. You can investigate this building and the numerous mysteries behind its development on our Gothic Quarter visit

Barcelona Cathedral – Credit: Ruth Crothers

Gaudí Didn't Begin As Head Architect of Sagrada Familia

It is notable that Gaudí kicked the bucket before he saw his Masterpiece finished yet numerous don't understand that Gaudí was not generally the head draftsman. At the point when development started in 1882, it was regulated by Madrid-prepared planner Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano. Gaudí at first worked under him in a lesser limit yet would assume control once Villar y Lozano withdrew the undertaking the next year because of innovative contrasts with the book retailer and giver Josep Maria Bocabella, who had authorized the venture. Villar had imagined a Neo-Gothic plan (like the current façade of the Barcelona Cathedral seen above), hints of which can at present be found in the tomb. It's insane to figure exactly how extraordinary things may have turned out had he proceeded!

Gaudí Died in a Tragic Accident and No One Recognized Him

Gaudí in 1878

Gaudí passed away at 73 years old in 1926 and you'd be pardoned for intuition the reason was seniority. Be that as it may, the engineer was in actuality struck by a cable car on his every day course to chapel. Despite the fact that he was genuinely notable in Barcelona now, he was dressed pitifully and didn't have any recognizing records on him, so he was at first thought to be a homeless person. He was in the long run taken to healing center where the Sagrada Familia clergyman remembered him the next day, however by then his condition had weakened so much that he kicked the bucket on June tenth. He is covered in the grave of the Basilica. The current anticipated year of culmination is in reality due to match with the centennial of Gaudí's passing.

Sagrada Familia Was Vandalized During the Spanish Civil War

Gratefully, the Sagrada Familia was saved in the shelling strikes on Barcelona did by the Italians amid the Spanish Civil War. Nonetheless, it was not left totally solid. A solid current of hostile to clericalism was tangible among the Spanish Republicans (particularly since the Nationalist agitators drove by Franco had close connections to the Catholic Church), and hence numerous Churches were pulverized the nation over all through the unpleasant clash.

In 1936 the Sagrada Familia sepulcher and Gaudí's workshop were set land, decimating numerous critical models and plans that the draftsmen had been depending on for the continuation of the undertaking. To be sure, the verbal confrontation seethes on right up 'til today in the matter of whether the present stylish of the undertaking stays consistent with Gaudí's unique vision, with numerous in expressions of the human experience world contending that it doesn't. Gossip has it that various bodies were expelled or harmed from the sepulcher amid the 1936 assault (counting those of the Bocabella family who had initially financed the venture) however Gaudí's was allowed to sit unbothered because of the massive regard for him and his commitment to the city of Barcelona. Take in more about this wild period on our Barcelona Civil War Tour.

Sagrada Familia Costs Around €25 million a Year to Build

While it is difficult to evaluate the aggregate expenses of development the Basilica has caused throughout the years, we do realize that it has never gotten open or even church subsidizing. Rather it depends completely on income from ticket deals and other private gifts. All things considered it has earned the title Expiatory sanctuary. The present gauge for building costs every year is an incredible €25 million.

Barcelona Hidden Secrets

Absorbing the luxurious insides at the Hospital de St. Pau

Gaudí's work did not exist in a vacuum. Without a doubt, as the individuals who take our Gaudí in Context introduction visit will find, there are two counterparts of his specifically that helped shape the Barcelona horizon. Josep Puig I Cadafalch and Lluís Domènech I Montaner made precious commitments to the Catalan Art Nouveau development. The last is in charge of the Palau de la Música Catalana and the lesser known yet no less staggering Hospital de St. Pau—a gigantic modernista structure straight not far off from the Sagrada Familia. Together with the Palace of Catalan Music, it is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and walking around its complex mosaicked passageways it's anything but difficult to perceive any reason why. Intended to supplant the Santa Creu doctor's facility in el Raval that dated back to medieval circumstances and had fallen into deterioration, the site is splendid, open, and present day, as the draftsman felt that lovely environment would help the mending procedure. It really stayed operational as a Hospital until 2009 and is presently open to people in general so guests up to date can view it's brilliant encompassing