Apparently during festival, they do not allow private tour guides in Sagrada Familia, but Marta's tour of the facades was extremely interesting. The audioguide covered the inside sufficiently.
The first facade Marta covered was the Nativity side, which was Gaudi's project. She pointed out all of the different sculptures and what they represented. I won't go into detail here, but when you come to Familia Sagrada, be sure to take a tour so you can more fully appreciate the wonder of what you are seeing. I've also linked to a pretty good description.
The Nativity side, along with the crypt, is Gaudi's work, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Maddy, Carol, Blogger,
and Marta on the Nativity
side of Sagrada Familia
Marta then took us to the more controversial Passion side. Done by Josep Maria Subirachs, a Barcelona sculptor who was born a year after Gaudi died, the Passion side is stunning to me. More sparse, it tells the story of Jesus's death, starting with the Last Supper. To me, the work is stark and beautiful. Some do not like his depiction of Jesus on the cross, while others criticize the facade for not being similar to Gaudi's work on the Nativity side.
Me? I think it is amazing. Marta did the same on the Passion side, showing us each individual sculpture and what it means. She really did a fabulous job of walking us through it, and laid the foundation for a great visit overall.
The Glory facade is not finished, and it is unlikely to be done by 2026, the 100 year anniversary of Gaudi's death and the stated goal of the authorities.
Marta took us back to the ticket entrance, where we went in, got audio guides, and proceeded into the building itself.
The outside is visually stunning, but the inside is breath-taking. I had tears in my eyes from the wonder and beauty of it all. I would have bawled because I was so moved, but I worried that it would be unbecoming. Carol later admitted she had tears in her eyes. I can't say either way on Maddy, as we didn't talk about it, but I did see her walking around, eyes wide open in wonderment.
The inside was essentially finished, which meant they had accomplished a lot of work since our visit in 2009. It is literally the most beautiful man-made thing I have ever seen, and there's a LOT of competition. More beautiful than the Sistine Chapel.
The most beautiful part are the stained glass windows. On the east side, they are green and blue, for the cooler color of the sunrise. On the west side, they are orange and yellow, for the warmer color of the sunset.
The ceiling rises high above, held up by pillars designed to represent trees. The choir loft rings the church, well above the ground level. The altar is visionary. I could go on, but I won't. If you have never been, or have not been for a long time, just go. And you can text me thanks from Barcelona.
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