Photos

Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família - Passion Facade

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La Sagrada Familia is a large Roman Catholic basilica
under construction in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The
formal title of the basilica is the Temple Expiatori
de la Sagrada Família or Expiatory Temple of the Holy
Family. It is the last, and perhaps most
extraordinary, of the designs of the Catalan architect
Antoni Gaudí.

The Sagrada Família was planned in the late 19th
century and construction work, under the supervison of
Antoni Gaudí, commenced in the 1880s. After
disagreements between the founding association and the
original architect Francesco del Villar, Gaudí was
assigned the project in 1883 and created an entirely
new design. At first, the basilica stood in an empty
field over a mile away from urban Barcelona.

Gaudí worked on the project for over 40 years,
devoting the last 15 years of his life entirely to
this endeavour; on the subject of the extremely long
construction, Gaudí is said to have joked, "My client
is not in a hurry." Work was interrupted by the
Spanish Civil War in 1935 and recommenced in the
1950s, after the end of World War II.

Gaudí died in 1926. Parts of the unfinished building
and Gaudí's models and workshop were destroyed during
the Spanish Civil War by Catalan anarchists. The
design, as now being constructed, is based both on
reconstructed versions of the lost plans and on modern
adaptations. Since 1940 the architects Francesc
Quintana, Isidre Puig Boada, and Lluís Gari have
carried on the work. Sculptures by J. Busquets and the
controversial Josep Subirachs decorate the fantastical
façades.

The finishing date for this architectural masterpiece is set for 2026.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Fam%C3%ADlia]