La Sagrada Familia: Everything You Need to Know
Photo: Alexander Spatari/Getty Images
The word unique is used way too much nowadays, but La Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudí’s magnum opus in Barcelona, is a rare architectural marvel that really is one-of-a-kind.
This remarkable edifice, which has been compared to everything from a science-fiction fantasy to “spirit symbolized in stone,” has captivated, inspired, and, yes, even repelled visitors for over a century. Famously unfinished, the church has been under construction since 1882. But just two years from now, this massive project, the labor of generations of architects, sculptors, and builders, will finally be complete.
We spoke to two architects about the significance of Gaudí’s masterpiece, how he changed architecture, and what to look for if you decide to see it in person in Barcelona.
History of La Sagrada Familia
Though intimately linked with Gaudí, the project actually started with a different architect. The idea for the Roman Catholic church known popularly as La Sagrada Familia came from a 19th-century Catalan bookseller, José María Bocabella. His vision looked a lot different from what you see today—he wanted to recreate the Gothic Basilica della Santa Casa of Loreto, Italy, in Barcelona. Funded through donations, the first architect of La Sagrada Familia, Francisco de Paula del Villar, planned for a neo-Gothic structure beginning with the crypt. Work started on the site in 1882, but Villar quit the following year after disputes with the project’s promoter. At this point, only the crypt had been built.
Taking over for Villar was architect Antoni Gaudí, a Catalan nationalist who’d found a patron in the industrialist Eusebi Güell (the namesake of Parc Güell, or Park Güell in English), and had already made a name for himself with his modernist designs. Gaudí jettisoned Villar’s plans and came up with something entirely new, planning a revolutionary structure around the existing crypt that would not only nod at but also improve upon and exceed its original neo-Gothic inspiration.
Individuality In Ecclesiastical Architecture Carried To Extremes
“He would’ve preferred to have started over, but that was infeasible,” says Jordan Rogove, cofounder and partner of New York City’s DXA Studio and affiliate professor of architecture at Virginia Tech. “He dispensed with the faithful adherence to Gothic principles, and starting with the design of the apse (a semicircular recess covered with a semi-dome where the altar sits), removed the buttresses and added rounded windows. As design work for the three main façades commenced, he abandoned all vestiges of the previous design and went in an entirely new direction.”
Gaudí saw a melding of the most basic floor plan of a neo-Gothic church, transformed by his fascination with nature and geometry. He saw 18 spires climbing to the sky, each representing the most important figures in Christianity, including the 12 disciples, the four evangelists, and the Virgin Mary.
High Section and Close-up of the Sagraga Familia, Barcelona, Spain
The tallest spire, symbolizing Jesus Christ and expected to be fully erected in 2026, will make La Sagrada Familia the tallest church in the world—but still shorter than the historic Barcelona hill of Montjuic, as Gaudí insisted that his creation shouldn’t exceed that of God’s.
Though Gaudí saw La Sagrada Familia as his life’s work and his primary project, he still found time to work on other architectural works, including the design for Casa Milà and the redesign of Casa Batlló, both now major landmarks in Barcelona.
Throughout the decades he worked on the project, Gaudí continuously evolved and refined his vision.
“When Gaudí began the Sagrada Familia he was said to have not been that religious. Over the course of the project this changed, as did his design approach,” Rogove says. “He believed that God was the original artist and Mother Nature the ultimate source of inspiration.”
Notably, La Sagrada Familia lacks 90-degree angles anywhere inside or outside, and there are very few straight lines—a tribute to the organic shapes found in nature.
Views Of Barcelona
“He does not leave any space flat,” says Moscow-born, New York City–based architect Olga Whitmoyer. “It reminds me of my home city’s Saint Basil’s Cathedral on the Red Square in its sophisticated detailing and diversity of architectural elements.”
In addition, Gaudí had intended for much of his work to be painted in eye-popping colors, reflecting the vibrance of the natural world—a detail that hasn’t made it into church’s final look.
“Gaudí’s use of color on the façades would pop out more in details, such as glazed mosaic inserts or painted portions of towers,” Whitmoyer adds.
The designer knew the project was too massive for him to ever see it completed himself, but his work on it was still over prematurely. He died in 1926 at age 73 after being hit by a streetcar on his way to confession, with about a quarter of the church done. He was buried in La Sagrada Familia within the crypt in the chapel of the Virgen del Carmen. Following his death, one of his disciples replaced him as head of the church project, following Gaudí’s plan.
Views Of Barcelona
In recent years, computer modeling has greatly accelerated the project’s timeline, and Gaudí fans who once despaired of ever seeing La Sagrada Familia finished in their lifetimes will get to see it soon. The building is expected to be completed in 2026, though the decorative details and a controversial main staircase (which would require demolishing three city blocks and the homes of thousands) won’t be finished until 2034.
Though La Sagrada Familia and Gaudí’s work in general weren’t greatly appreciated in the decades after his death, starting in the mid 20th century, Catalan artists like Salvador Dalí urged the world to reassess his genius. Now, modern architects credit La Sagrada Familia as a shining example of modernism and Gaudí as an unparalleled innovator, and it has become the most recognizable symbol of the city of Barcelona.
“He perpetually reinterpreted what came before, Gothic and Moorish architecture in particular,” Rogove says. “He never believed in a purity of style or imitation, rather consulting what came before as a source of inspiration. His interests in using nature and an extraordinary understanding of structural engineering took his approach in an entirely new direction.”
Architectural Details of La Sagrada Familia
Exterior Design
The building is defined by three stone façades, each full of symbolism and references to important Christian motifs and events.
Nativity Façade
Gaudí was alive for much of the construction of the Nativity Façade, the east-facing side of La Sagrada Familia and considered most faithful to his design. It’s a depiction of the birth of Christ and is notable for erupting in lively details and incorporating symbols from nature throughout, such as the Tree of Life and various animals representing concepts like eternity and change.
Facade of Life exterior detail of the Basilica Sagrada Fam?
“The Nativity is east-facing by design, getting illuminated at first light each day as a symbol of hope,” Rogove says. “I love the drip sand castle look of its entirety, not knowing where one sculpture stops and another begins.”
Passion Façade
The west-facing façade, the Passion Façade, depicts Christ’s crucifixion and is far more somber. Using bone-like patterns and chiaroscuro, it depicts a harsher, starker scene that’s meant to be a contrast to the abundance and life-affirming minutia of the Nativity Façade.
Catalan sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs led the project following Gaudí’s original ideas, with his first pieces being installed in 1987 and the final pieces put in place in 2018, a year before his death.
Spain, Catalonia
“My favorite feature is the parabolic colonnade,” Rogove says. “It is so raw and emotional, and it is a product of Gaudí’s rethinking of structure, one of the most fundamental parts of the church’s design. Allegedly Gaudí designed Passion in the throes of a personal depression, which the imagery seems to corroborate, and he placed a representation of himself next to the brutish soldiers. Definitely try to find him if you visit.”
Glory Façade
As with most Roman Catholic churches, the south-facing Glory Façade, which began construction in 2002, will decorate the main entrance to La Sagrada Familia. Gaudí intended it to glorify Jesus Christ’s lifetime, and it is still under construction, with a likely completion date of 2034. The doors of the Glory Façade, also by Subirachs, were installed in 2008 and include the Lord’s Prayer in Catalan with door handles in the shape of an A and a G for Antoni Gaudí’s initials.
Interior Design
As with most Roman Catholic and Western European churches, the floor plan of La Sagrada Familia is based on a Latin cross, with a long nave intersected by a transept to give the structure its basic cruciform shape. The resemblance to most other churches in Western Europe ends here.
Soaring pillar dominate the interior of La Sagrada Familia, which Gaudí designed using fractal geometric forms and branching supports inspired by trees. These weren’t merely decorative—they were structural innovations that meant the church, despite its neo-Gothic origins, no longer had to rely on the buttresses Gaudí scorned.
Views Of Barcelona
“He found a muse in the eucalyptus tree, using its composition as a model for columns that bear tremendous loads but with an intentional slant evocative of the imperfect trees from which they were derived, somehow appearing to bear no weight,” Rogove says. “Collectively, the columns give the feeling of a vast forest.”
The ceiling of the apse rises 246 feet high. The walls of the church are filled with large stained-glass windows, flooding the nave with rainbow-colored light.
“Seeing it bathed in the vibrant spectral light of the stained glass…really has an indescribable beauty,” Rogove says.
How to Visit La Sagrada Familia
La Sagrada Familia is a working church, but is still open to visitors. Much of the funding for the construction of the church comes from the entry fees.
To visit, you must purchase tickets to tour the church online at SagradaFamilia.org. If you have a group of 30 or more, the church will provide a guided tour. You must reserve a time slot for your visit, which are generally available starting two months ahead of time.
The base price for La Sagrada Familia (which includes an audio guide through an app) is 26 euros, or about $29. A second tier, which cost 36 euros, or about $40, includes access to the building’s towers. Note that this involves climbing long, narrow, spiral staircases and are not accessible to those mobility issues.
For guided tours, the prices jump to 30 euros and 40 euros, respectively. There are discounts for seniors, people under 30, and students. Children under 11 and visitors with disabilities are able to visit for free.
Barcelona, Spain - April 10,2018 : Night view of the Sagrada Familia, a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Spain, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi.
Visitors must wear appropriate clothing for a church, which means no bare shoulders, see-through clothes, and pants or shorts that don’t go higher than mid-thigh.
The church accepts worshipers every Sunday at 9 a.m. and on holy days through the Nativity façade entrance (east side of the church). Entrance for worship is free but subject to capacity.
Further, La Sagrada Familia celebrates an international Mass in various languages every Saturday at 8 p.m. Entrance is free but subject to capacity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the Sagrada Familia still not finished?
A number of issues have made La Sagrada Familia’s construction a century-long process, including changes in design, Gaudí’s death, the Spanish Civil War, the destruction of many of its original plans, funding (the money comes from ticket sales and private donations), and the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting with Gaudí, it was always a massive and ambitious project and the architect was well aware that he wouldn’t live to see its completion.
Where is the Sagrada Familia?
La Sagrada Familia is in the Eixample district of Barcelona, the capital of the autonomous region of Catalonia (Catalunya) in Spain.
When will the Sagrada Familia be completed?
The building itself is expected to be completed in 2026, though decorative details and the main staircase aren’t scheduled for completion until 2034.
What does ‘La Sagrada Familia’ mean in English?
It means “the holy family,” as in Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The full name of the church, however, is Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, or Basilica and Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family.
When is La Sagrada Familia open to visit?
From November through February, the church is open Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
From April through September, it’s open Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m and on Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
In March and October, it’s open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
On December 25, December 26, January 1 and January 6, La Sagrada Familia is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The hours are always subject to change for special events.
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
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