Awe Inspiring Interior: La Segrada Familia
One of the wonders of this incredible architecture is that everything… absolutely everything has meaning. Planned with symbolism complimenting the engineering genius. This visit, was the first time we were prepared to listen to the walking tour on our iphone. There is no charge to listen but brings an entirely new appreciation to the works. Gaudi’s style can be almost whimsical but as you learn, every aspect has an engineering purpose. Take this photos for example. There are 36 columns of different textures representing a variety of trees in the forest. Their purpose is to shore up the massive structure…
There are three entrances to the cathedra which symbolize three virtues: love, hope and faith. Each of these are important virtues to the life of Jesus Christ. The forest of columns symbolize saints rising to the heavens and angels descending to meet them. Four prominent columns honor the Evangelists.
Click on each photo to open it up in its own window to better see the workmanship of these fabulous stained glass windows! The only source of light in the cathedral, the yellow, blue and green on the portal of the Nativity represent the birth of Jesus. Orange and red on the windows of the Passion facade represent stand for water, light and resurrection.
Gaudi spent endless hours planning out the exact colors, placement and design of the stained glass. For example, this area faces to the west. As the sun moves across the sky, the colors become vibrant. We were in the sanctuary around 1pm and the colors were bold. I probably took fifty photos! The rainbow like colors turn to actual sunset colors later in the day. I’ll have to return to see that…
Knowing the passion Gaudi had for God and his focus to honor the life of Jesus made this a powerful experience. It even had us take a third selfie in one day… just to remember we were there. It would be easy to spend hours taking in all of the symbolism. Returning at different times of the day/night is also a good idea as it is ever changing…
Despite hundreds of other visitors were walking around… it was still easy to feel a strong spiritual connection to this gift to God. The room has a powerful draw. Never before have I seen such a giant structure dedicated to telling the complete biblical story. We have visited many cathedrals, I am always drawn to them. This one is different… this one is powerfully special.
In addition to the above mentioned columns, twelve represent the apostles, 15 Spanish cities with Archbishops, four Catalan bishopics, and the five continents of the world (number used by United Nations).
There is an elevator that leads visitors to one of two accessible towers. However, you must walk back down… 200+ steps in a spiral staircase. There are also stairs like these that lead to other areas of the church not open to the public. Still decorated with beautiful stained glass.
After Gaudi was hit by a tram and died in 1926, work on the mega-structure slowed. Family members attempted to follow Gaudi’s dream. In 1978, a Japanese architect visited Barcelona. Intrigued by the ideas and vision for this tribute to God, Etsuro Sotoo took over the task of recreating plans and implementing Gaudi’s ideas. Covid shut down production and will make the 2026 completion date quite a challenge. Although it seems to be moving at quite a good pace. We could see quite a bit of progress since our last visit.
We shall return to see if the lofty goal comes to fruition. Gaudi himself, did not live long enough to see his dream completed. Hopefully, Sotoo, who has not only learned the Spanish language but converted to Catholicism in his journey to pay tribute to Gaudi the artist and God the Father… will live to see the completion.
A couple of notes… first off, there are plans for stairs leading to the outdoors which would mean about 1000 homes would have to be demolished. I’m not sure how that is going to work out… and Sotoo’s nickname in Japan is The Japanese Gaudi.
