Saturday, January 28, 2012

The Temple Sagrada Família...which has been in construction since 1882.
Hapless - Trickery.net

Temple Sagrada Família... Two weeks ago, I stumbled upon a book at my local mall that is about this amazing structure, which is located in Barcelona, Spain and has literally been in construction for 130 years. Known officially as the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, this temple is actually a large Roman Catholic church...denoted by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as a World Heritage Site, and designated a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in early November of 2010.

An aerial view of the Temple Sagrada Família...which isn't set to be completed till 2026 or 2028.
Photo courtesy of Citronics.net

The Temple Sagrada Família officially began construction in 1882, and isn't set to be completed till 2026 (or possibly 2028)—which is the centennial of the death of Antoni Gaudí, the church's chief architect. Gaudí became involved with the temple's construction in 1883, and devoted the last years of his life to the project till he passed away in 1926. Though work was halted during the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939, construction on the Sagrada Família resumed and finally reached the halfway point in 2010.

A ground-level view of the Temple Sagrada Família...which has currently taken 130 years to construct.
Photo courtesy of Go Car Tours

Despite being more than a decade away from fully opening for worship, the Sagrada Família was consecrated by the Pope on November 7, 2010 in front of a crowd of 6,500 people. An additional 50,000 individuals followed the consecration Mass from outside the temple, with 100 bishops and 300 priests on-hand to offer Holy Communion. Being a fellow Catholic myself, I would definitely be impressed if I visited this basilica in person. To paraphrase architectural critic Paul Goldberger (who said this about the Sagrada Familia), it would be awesome to see in person "the most extraordinary personal interpretation of Gothic architecture since the Middle Ages". Nice... That is all.

A view of the Temple Sagrada Família's central nave...whose completion allowed Pope Benedict XVI to consecrate the church in November of 2010.
Photo courtesy of Domus - In-finite Architectures

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