More important, in the nearly hundred and fifty years it has taken for the church to assume its final form, Gaudí’s once revolutionary aesthetic no longer looks futuristic. Early critics of the Sagrada Família accused Gaudí of being too over the top, but his commitment to visual abundance has become a universal aspect of pop culture—think of the ornate C.G.I. cityscapes in “Black Panther” or the “Star Wars” films.
I was never into architecture and am not a religious person but visiting the Sagrada Familia was profound. I came out a slightly different man than one who walked into it just half an hour before. No CGI hack comes close.
Visited this a few months ago, somehow having never heard of it as an American (in the way that I learned about Notre Dame and St. Peter’s and Westminster Abbey) and it surpassed the hype far more than any European famous attraction I’ve ever been to.
I first glimpsed it while doing a touristy bike tour my first day in Barcelona and it’s hard to convey how surreal it is, like a video game’s final level glitching into its tutorial stage.
Visited Barcelona a decade ago to see this. It's awesome. I often think calling it "kitsch" is some sort of unfortunate linguistic quirk because Antonio Gaudi's name evokes "gaudy."
The thing is a celebration of creation, inventiveness, and natural beauty. Maybe even playfulness - though being a catholic building there's some requisite "death" mixed in: I guess the full spectrum of life is lurking in there.
An element of Gaudi's work I didn't appreciate until I was in Barcelona is the usage of biological structures in his architecture. You can see somewhat in the image looking at the ceiling, but the columns really do evoke the sense of being in a forest of pure white, towering trees with the ceiling as its canopy.
I visited last month and it is incredibly stunning to see in person. The amazing amount of detail on the facade carvings along with the organic design is something I have not seen on any building. There is what appears to be a Christmas tree topping the front facade.
My only regret is not going inside as it was waaaay too hot to stand in line for hours to get inside. Though I walked around it taking pictures.
99% invisible made an amazing episode on this nearly 10 years ago. The story of gaudi, how he died, how the plans of the church were destroyed, and how they're reconstructing the architecture. All that aside, the cathedral is mind blowing.
As others have said the Sagrada Familia is incredible and I had high expectations given all the controversy around it. I've visited many historic churches during my travels and it's my favorite one. Really neat to see it reach this stage.
This is one of the most magnificent buildings I've seen in my life and everyone should go see it even if you're not religious. It's incredible the vision the architect had over 100 years ago.
>This is one of the most magnificent buildings I've seen in my life and everyone should go see it even if you're not religious.
On the flipside, I remember thinking it was a kitsch architectural icon and my family was bullying me into going to visit by dictating my plans while solo traveling.
When I went inside, I had a brief moment where I was struck by awe, and wondered if I should consider converting to Catholicism.
I'm not sure about "ugly," but it's certainly no more outdated than most places in Europe, and tourists will continue to flood in regardless. No one will miss to visit the Sagrada Família for sure.
More important, in the nearly hundred and fifty years it has taken for the church to assume its final form, Gaudí’s once revolutionary aesthetic no longer looks futuristic. Early critics of the Sagrada Família accused Gaudí of being too over the top, but his commitment to visual abundance has become a universal aspect of pop culture—think of the ornate C.G.I. cityscapes in “Black Panther” or the “Star Wars” films.
I was never into architecture and am not a religious person but visiting the Sagrada Familia was profound. I came out a slightly different man than one who walked into it just half an hour before. No CGI hack comes close.
Gaudi wanted it to be a monument to Christ but it ended up as a monument to Gaudi.
Visited this a few months ago, somehow having never heard of it as an American (in the way that I learned about Notre Dame and St. Peter’s and Westminster Abbey) and it surpassed the hype far more than any European famous attraction I’ve ever been to.
I first glimpsed it while doing a touristy bike tour my first day in Barcelona and it’s hard to convey how surreal it is, like a video game’s final level glitching into its tutorial stage.
The Sagrada Familia is pretty well known, but I just want to put a plug here for some other buildings by Gaudi you can go see: https://www.barcelona-life.com/barcelona/gaudi
That said, if on limited time, definitely see the Sagrada Familia. It was one of my favourite tourist sites in Spain, even beyond just Barcelona.
Yes!
Parc Guell https://parkguell.barcelona/ and La Padera https://www.lapedrera.com/en are must sees for Gaudi
Don't forget casa Batlló - visits are by appointment only (I think) but even just seeing the building’s exterior is pretty awesome.
Casa Batllo is pretty nice as well.
Visited Barcelona a decade ago to see this. It's awesome. I often think calling it "kitsch" is some sort of unfortunate linguistic quirk because Antonio Gaudi's name evokes "gaudy."
The thing is a celebration of creation, inventiveness, and natural beauty. Maybe even playfulness - though being a catholic building there's some requisite "death" mixed in: I guess the full spectrum of life is lurking in there.
Eh, I thought I made a pretty good joke when someone said "the sagrada familia is pretty gaudy" and I said "it's pronounced 'Gaudí'".
An element of Gaudi's work I didn't appreciate until I was in Barcelona is the usage of biological structures in his architecture. You can see somewhat in the image looking at the ceiling, but the columns really do evoke the sense of being in a forest of pure white, towering trees with the ceiling as its canopy.
I visited last month and it is incredibly stunning to see in person. The amazing amount of detail on the facade carvings along with the organic design is something I have not seen on any building. There is what appears to be a Christmas tree topping the front facade.
My only regret is not going inside as it was waaaay too hot to stand in line for hours to get inside. Though I walked around it taking pictures.
I visited it last year for the first time. Indescribably stunning, I can't recommend it enough.
https://archive.ph/qTTbE
It’s such an awesome cathedral. It’s def worth going just for this. Go. Spend a few hours just taking it all in. It’s amazing.
I can't help but feel Warhammer 40K vibes when looking at this thing. It's a monstrosity, directly from the Warp
99% invisible made an amazing episode on this nearly 10 years ago. The story of gaudi, how he died, how the plans of the church were destroyed, and how they're reconstructing the architecture. All that aside, the cathedral is mind blowing.
As others have said the Sagrada Familia is incredible and I had high expectations given all the controversy around it. I've visited many historic churches during my travels and it's my favorite one. Really neat to see it reach this stage.
Im not that interested in architecture, but this was stunning. Such immense vision from original the architect.
It gives me hope that sometimes, mankind can take a long term project. Even with warts and all.
This is one of the most magnificent buildings I've seen in my life and everyone should go see it even if you're not religious. It's incredible the vision the architect had over 100 years ago.
>This is one of the most magnificent buildings I've seen in my life and everyone should go see it even if you're not religious.
On the flipside, I remember thinking it was a kitsch architectural icon and my family was bullying me into going to visit by dictating my plans while solo traveling.
When I went inside, I had a brief moment where I was struck by awe, and wondered if I should consider converting to Catholicism.
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> ugly and already outdated
I'm not sure about "ugly," but it's certainly no more outdated than most places in Europe, and tourists will continue to flood in regardless. No one will miss to visit the Sagrada Família for sure.
as you say, the only function of Sagrada Familia is to extract money from tourists.
Tourists go home
I'm sad that you got flagged for expressing your aesthetic opinion, but I think it's a beautiful achievement.
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