The Making of a Masterpiece

The Sagrada Família is a temple, which has been in construction since 1882 − that’s one-hundred-thirty-two (132!) years of building. Yet it’s still unfinished! But despite of being a perpetual construction site, Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Família (Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family) has become a landmark of Barcelona. Thousands of tourists swarm the church, taking pictures of it from all possible angles, scaffoldings, cranes and all. Most of the tourists leave it at that, choosing to move on to the next item on their itinerary. I mean, I see their point. If the building is not yet done, what could possibly be seen inside? And if the interior of the Sagrada Família is not a dusty mess then it would probably look similar to the cathedrals all over Europe. 

Well...let me just say this: the interior of the church far eclipses the exterior. If you’ve already come to look at the church from the outside, might as well go inside and witness a historical masterpiece in the making. It’ll be like being there while the Eiffel Tower was only an unfinished mass of twisted metal. This is history being written and if I missed out on the  building of the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Great Wall of China, at least I can say that I got to see the construction of the Sagrada Família.

This church is a masterpiece of art and Antonio Gaudí was the artist who made me literally stop in my tracks as I beheld the church from the inside. With my mouth open in astonishment, I did not know where to look first. It was a sensory overload kind of moment...a heady sensation that befuddled my mind as I tried to absorb all that I was seeing. In contrast to other great European churches, the Sagrada Família was not dimly lit but was flooded in a kaleidoscope of colors. It was a delightful mix of flowing curves and slanting columns (no boring straight lines), of jagged edges and sloping lines. All imaginable shapes and colors were thrown in to create this extraordinary house of worship − and as I said, it’s still unfinished! So dear reader, please give yourself a visual treat and step inside the Sagrada Família for a perfusion of color and delight.

Thank you for reading!