Rather in the same way that I left visiting the Sagrada Familia till my last day in Barcelona, I’ve resisted posting about it. I hoped against hope that I wouldn’t find it disappointing. My hotel, of the same name, was just around the corner, so I had walked past on numerous occasions. Not that it’s possible to just casually pass by the Sagrada Familia. Each time, I would stop and stare, fascinated. The stonemasons, seemingly oblivious to passers by, scaled the heights in flimsy cradles. But what would it feel like, inside? Would it be a venerable space, or simply a crazily imaginative work of art? I’ll let you decide.
Light cascades through the windows, from the ceiling down.
I don’t know if I was ever in a more beautiful space.
From the almost traditional
to the surreal.
From strong blues
through rainbow hues
to soft and rosy pale.
Sunlight shimmers off the pillars
and hides in corners.
Even now, just looking at the photos and writing about it, I feel quite emotional. Hard to explain the impact of this place. The altar, like nothing I had ever seen before. I was feeling reverence, while down below, in the parishioners church, a service was taking place.
A simple Christ
Then there was the tower to climb. Fortunately, the lift did most of the work.
But following the stairwell was a slightly surreal experience.
Looking out past the trussed up newer features
Were windows ever so strangely adorned?
And then the exterior, worked upon for so long. (Gaudi began in 1883!)
A window, barely visible for sculpture
And one exquisitely surrounded
What do they make of it all?
I hope I have managed to convey some of the beauty and artistry of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia. It’s fair to say, there is nowhere else like it. What an incredible man was Antoni Gaudi, “God’s Architect”. The current projection for completion is 2033.
This is my contribution to Dawn’s Lingering look at Windows this week. I wasn’t disappointed. I hope you weren’t either? Meantime, Debbie, over at Travel with Intent has asked if I would like to link this post to her challenge, Look up, Look down. So that’s a lot more folks to visit, isn’t it? Happy Thanksgiving, all!
This is more than grand – I am in awe. Thank you for sharing with us.
Truly breathtaking, isn’t it? Unbelievable the vision of this man. 🙂
Fabulous photos Jo – I haven’t been inside for about 8 years and its come on a lot since then. I love your shots of the stained glass especially 🙂
The space really speaks to you, Suze. I wasn’t prepared for the impact it had 🙂
Lovely! It’s come on a lot since I was there about six years ago, you can see so much more detail now some of the scaffolding has been taken down.
Thanks, Lucy 🙂 The inside really spoke to me. I loved it!
God’s Architect, indeed! Great post, takes my breath away… Thank you, Jo!
Thanks for your kind comment, Amy. 🙂 Stunning sunrise here this morning. Great start to another week.
It’s been a few years since I visited Sagrada Familia and it looks to have come along a bit in the meantime!
Hmmm … that stairwell is pretty surreal!
I can’t think of another cathedral in the building phase – can you?
Great photos, Jo – you’ve really shown it off well.
Thanks, Marianne. I really enjoyed putting this post together. It is the most amazing space and I really loved it. No, I don’t think it has an equivalent anywhere. 🙂
Fantastic photos – here, Jo! I have never been inside the Sagrada Familia – because it hasn’t been ready and my last visit I didn’t know it was all done. Just wonderful beautiful the way they have finished it. So glad you did this post … because now I know how it looks inside. It has been under constructions for so many years.
I did a virtual tour online before I went, Vivi, and I still wasn’t prepared for the reality. It has the most beautiful feeling and you don’t have to be religious to be swept away by it. This is one of those posts I just had to write. I’m glad you like it 🙂
Bedtime hug! 🙂 (I’m going in the bath with my book)
Jo, it’s a stunning post and next time I go to Barcelona I will visit it. I think I have only visit 4 churches in total as a tourist, not really my thing – but this I want to see … just love the way they have finished it off.
Thanks so much, Vivi. Stunning sunrise this morning! I’m writing with one eye on the window 🙂
The first time we visited Sagrada Famila was in 1991. We come again and again to view the progress. I love this place.
It’s astonishing isn’t it? Some friends who had been didn’t like it at all, and I simply couldn’t understand! I liked it more than I could ever have imagined 🙂
I do. Gorgeous photos!
Thank you 🙂
I’ve just got home and am too tired to do much catching up. Will visit tomorrow.
Stunning photos, Jo. It’s so lovely to relive Sagrada Familia through your eyes. It is really a stunning, awe-inspiring space, isn’t it? And so spiritual with all that light streaming in through the lofty spaces. 🙂
I found it very special, Cathy. Staying so near to it, I’d seen the exterior numerous times, but nothing prepared me for the inside. Thanks, hon 🙂
You have conveyed the beauty of the Basilica, you captured the light perfectly. Antonio Gaudi’s art is fantastic he led the way with original architecture. Have you a post on any of his other work? Your photos are magic.
Thank you so much, Jack. I have posts containing Casa Batllo and La Pedrera but not anything as comprehensive as this.
https://restlessjo.wordpress.com/2013/11/09/six-word-saturday-88/
https://restlessjo.wordpress.com/2013/11/11/looking-down-on-barcelona/
See you in Barcelona I will be there with rour post.
The interior is magnificent, I think I like it more than the exterior and I imagine it was almost impossible to not bump into other visitors because you would always be looking up and around. Wonderful photos Jo, definitely a sight I would love to see.
Thanks, Sam. From the outside I was a little unsure, but inside the space just takes you over. Truly special! 🙂
Fabulous photos Jo! I can imagine how you gawked every time you passed it….we did too 🙂 The interior looks more finished than when we were there!
Hi Jo. You described this well…part traditional, part surreal. I am in awe and I can see the impact it can have on a visitor.Quite impressive.Love the humorous comment under the last picture. 🙂 (Thanks for wondering where I’ve been. Traveling, home improvement projects and a nasty bout of tendonitis in my “computer writing arm” have derailed me.) Take care. Lynne
Many thanks, Lynne. Glad to hear from you 🙂 (I could have hunted on Ron’s for some hints, but don’t get there as often as I’d like. Pleased it’s nothing serious)
They do have a slightly bemused look though, the modern sculptures 🙂 Happy you enjoyed it.
Very well composed post! You really gonna make your readers want to go there. I especially like the sculptures.
Thanks a lot, Rommel 🙂 Looking at the post, I want to go back myself. It’s an amazing space!
Your photos are breathtaking, Jo, and I feel lost for words. I would like to see this place for myself one day but in the meantime I’ve really enjoyed seeing it through your beautiful pictures, thank you.
We just “crossed over” again, Lorna. I was writing in your comments 🙂
Ethereal, unworldly… I don’t know what the words are, but it was a wonderful experience, Lorna. Thanks for enjoying it with me 🙂
I just saw your comment, thank you. 🙂 I could imagine you might be doubtful about sharing such an incredible place in case other people aren’t as impressed as you were on seeing it in person. However, no need to worry on that score, I can see from the other comments that I’m far from being the only one who was blown away by your pictures. I had to go back and look at those stained glass windows again – mesmerising!
How gorgeous is your Old World. Sadly most of this type of work has been left out of America well save for the Churches who carry on the tradition of Stained Glass. It is why I have a workshop in my barn so someday I can make more beautiful pieces to hang in front of my ordinary ones 🙂
I love all kinds of stained glass, Eunice- older styles and modern pieces too. 🙂
🙂 I like doing mine in the Frank Lloyd Wright style 🙂
Those are the most amazing photos Jo you have captured the spirit and beauty of this amazing building. I am so pleased to look inside with you. In 1989 when I was in Barcelona I could only gaze in awe at the outside and wish it was open to go inside.
Hi Pomme 🙂 So nice to have your company! Thank you- it really is a special place.
wonderful, fabulously wonderful photos!! wow…..
You did say you’d like to see more, Tobyo! 🙂 And this place was a bit special.
Thank you 🙂
yes indeedy, keep ’em coming!!
Beautiful post Jo. The pictures are gorgeous!
Glad you liked them, Marcia 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! Bet there’ll be a full table.
What an AMAZING post! Your photos are phenomenal! Thanks so much for sharing!
I got quite emotional putting it together, Kathryn! It brought back some lovely memories. Happy to share! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I can see why! Such lovely memories.
We visited Barcelona last year & we too, were gobsmacked when we stepped inside of the Sagrada Familia! We found ourselves just standing in absolute awe. For Gaudi to imagine this space so many years ago is incredible. For anyone visiting Barcelona, it is definitely worth the time & the money to visit:-)
Thanks, Lynn. Amazing, isn’t it? 🙂
Oh Jo, how fabulous it is! You’ve captured the purity and joyousness – that light! I’m so glad to learn there’s a congregation and an active schedule of services – you see, it will continue to be the Sagrada Familia, make its own place in the spiritual life of the city. It’s quite incredible how it’s changed since I was last there in the mid-70s – even looks as though it’s been cleaned, like any ancient city cathedral! Terrific, and worth every waiting moment 🙂
I’m so happy to have you say this, Meredith! Joyous is exactly how it feels. A real celebration of the Lord, and of mankind too. I was intrigued to see, in the church below the Basilica, the congregation at prayer. There isn’t much that Gaudi didn’t think of. What an amazing man! 🙂
I have never been there and yet the photos grab me in a very emotional way. I’m so much looking forward to going to Barcelona one day, I’ll be thinking of you, looking at this very grand inside, Jo. Great, just wonderful post.
Love, Dina
What a wonderful thing to say, Dina 🙂 I hope very much that you do visit one day. It is a truly amazing space and it won’t be wasted on you at all.
How nice to have been in walking distance of this magnificent structure. Your pictures are stunning, Jo!
It didn’t quite go to plan, Jill. The hotel allegedly has a roof terrace with views of SF, which was my chief reason for booking it. I never got to see the view, though- the door was always locked or I couldn’t manage to open it. A source of great frustration on my last day, but you just have to laugh!
Haven’t told anyone else this tale yet- an exclusive, for being such a loyal follower 🙂
I’m honored you shared your disappointing experience with me, Jo, but I’m so sorry to hear you were denied access to the roof terrace. You seem like a feisty lady, I’m surprised you didn’t try to pick the lock. 🙂
It was a heavy fire door, Jill. I nearly shoulder-charged it in frustration! 🙂
A-ma-zing, another quote from the cranky Craig…. Thanks for my free tour, but I really must get to see the real thing sometime….the light on the stonework looks stunning, and your images are great 🙂
Thanks a lot, Sue 🙂 You must! Before they run out of funds 🙂
I’m speechless! Amazing.
It’s a stunner, Michelle, and just one of the reasons I’m struggling to keep up with awards 🙂
Jo, this is utterly breathtaking. I have wanted to visit for so long, and now I want to jump on a plane immediately. Your photos are stunning, I think it’s the way you caught the light shimmering off the white stone work. Just beautiful , and what a mind he must have had to create this. I love the stone starburst in the roof, like flowers opening to the sun 🙂
That’s the effect it had on me, too, Seonaid. 🙂 I wasn’t sure if the photos were good enough but a couple I really like. It is the most captivating place! Book your flight- they need the money to keep the building works going 🙂
Definitely not disappointing. It is one to visit again and again, as is the whole of Barcelona. Glad you had such a good trip. I’ve pinned one of these on my Look Up Look Down pinterest page. You should come and link up to my Look Up Look Down Challenge. These shots are just perfect.
That’s a nice suggestion, thanks Debbie 🙂 It hadn’t occurred to me, but I will as you don’t mind. Thanks a lot!
Fantastic, makes me want to visit!
They need the money to keep the building work going, Joan. Book your flight! 🙂
I saw it in 2007 or 08 and was blown away. it was still under construction then. Have they finished it … will they ever. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
2033, maybe? What I hadn’t realised is that it is already in use as a church, TBM. Gaudi thought of everything! There is a church for local parishioners beneath the Basilica. Amazing!
Happy Thanksgiving 🙂 Are you celebrating, American style?
ah, thank Jo. We are celebrating pub style. Less cleanup afterwards.
You have captured it beautifully. A lovely tour and didn’t even cost a penny 🙂
Trust a Poolie to spot a bargain, David! 🙂 Seriously, it was worth the money.
Excellent Jo – dream-like – white balance spot on
It is the most beautiful, ethereal space and I loved it. Thank you 🙂
Fa-bu-lous, to quote a certain cranky Craig. Thank you for the wonderful tour.
Happy to raise a smile this dowdy day, Viv. I was going Nordic walking but not so sure now. 🙂
the sun is blinding me here at the moment!
So wonderful to see these images. I was planning visit to Barcelona this winter, unfortunately I had to change my plans. Hope to visit in the nearest future 🙂 Thank you for this preview ❤
I hope you do, Dosia 🙂 It really is a beautiful city! Many thanks.
Great pictures Jo. It is an interesting project don’t you think?
I have read that completion (whenever that is) may create an issue about consecration and status around the central debate of whether Barcelona needs two Roman Catholic Cathedrals.
Interesting too that the RC Church provides no funding for the construction work as does neither, the State of Spain, the Community of Catalonia or the city of Barcelona.
Salamanca has two cathedrals but they are built side by side (one Romanesque, one Baroque) and are effectively the same structure but it will be difficult to get from Barcelona Cathedral to Sagrada Familia unless worshippers are going to take the metro or the tourist bus!
Fascinating, Andrew! I hadn’t really thought about it except that in Girona they have cathedral and basilica don’t they? I thought this might differentiate, but I’m not good on theological issues. The church will bend the rules, surely, if it comes to it? (oops, who said that!)
The visitors are funding it handsomely, aren’t they, but I didn’t begrudge a penny, having been inside. What was a surprise to me was the church “belowstairs” with a congregation singing away!
It’s an easy hop on the Metro- I’ve done it 🙂
Good point Jo. As I understand it, in the RC hierarchy a Cathedral outranks a Basilica and a Basilica outranks a Church. Lots of cities have both a Cathedral and a Basilica. Paris has Notre Dam Cathedral and Sacré-Cœur Basilica. Sagrada Familia is currently consecrated as a Basilica, perhaps that is the best it can aspire to? A shame because it probably deserves to have Cathedral status.
I suppose one big question may be – will it ultimately be a Gaudi visitor attraction or a serious place for religious worship? Too big a conundrum for my agnostic brain!
How much is the entrance fee now?
Just searched through all my tickets and can’t find it, because I booked online before going. With the tower included but no audio it was just over 20euros, I think. Audio was another 4, and I really just wanted to look. I did the audio in Casa Batllo but not La Pedrera. If you’re interested there’s so much you can find out yourself. The link to Gaudi on Wikipedia is enormous and very informative. 🙂
spettacolare ed emozionante, una vera gioia per gli occhi! grazie Giovanna!
Beautiful, isn’t it, Ventis? A happy day to you! 🙂
hai saputo prendere il massimo da questa meraviglia, bello sì, sì mooolto
🙂
Baci! 🙂 🙂