"Not everyone will be able to say, 'I was there when it was being built.'"

"Not everyone will be able to say, 'I was there when it was being built.'" This was one of the comments made by members of the Premium Club At the start of last Sunday's guided tour of the Sagrada Família, places had been sold out for days (another tour will be scheduled soon), demonstrating that this modernist temple—with elements of contemporary architecture and sculpture—which remains the tallest building in Barcelona and the tallest church in the world, attracts tourists not only from around the globe but also from within Spain. Participants learned little-known details about this unique building, which is a "bible in stone" (it contains numerous elements that explain episodes from the life of Jesus). Macarena Bergada, an art historian and guide at the temple for the past fifteen years, explained to the attendees that the Sagrada Família project began in 1882 with the aim of creating a neighborhood parish church, promoted by a religious association and under the direction of an architect who was not Antoni Gaudí. A year later, Gaudí took over the project and completely transformed its design. The brilliant architect from Reus retained virtually none of the ideas from the original project.

"It seems incredible that everything has a meaning in the Sagrada Família," noted subscriber Jaume Galí. Indeed, every detail has its reason. In the On the facade of the Nativity scene there are animals such as the chameleon, which symbolizes change, or turtles, symbol of survival. On the Passion façade, a work by Josep Maria Subirachs, in a much more austere style than the rest of the temple, there is a qA square with numbers that, in a row, column, or diagonal, add up to 33 (the age at which Jesus Christ died). Inside the basilica, where the light is beautifully colored thanks to the stained-glass windows, The columns and capitals resemble trees. Nature was Gaudí's greatest source of inspiration.

Bergada pointed out that the basilica incorporates materials from various parts of the world. With this internationalization, Gaudí wanted to convey that everyone is welcome. For example, there is glass from Murano and Iranian porphyry in the central columns (these four columns represent the Evangelists and support the 172.5-meter-high Tower of Jesus).

The innovative character has been an essential element of the Sagrada Família since the beginning of its construction. "Without digital technology or modern calculation tools, Gaudí worked in three dimensions using inverted models and conducted experiments with the force of gravity to calculate weights and structures," the guide explained. Yes, the Sagrada Família is a work ahead of its time.

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