23 July 1983 A look back at the 100–year history of Barcelona’s ‘cathedral for the poor’
Faithful line the streets today as Pope Leo to bless Sagrada Família on centenary of Gaudí’s death
George Orwell called it “one of the most hideous buildings in the world” and berated the Spanish anarchists for not blowing it up when they had the chance during the civil war. Salvador Dalí, in contrast, praised the architect’s “supremely creative bad taste” and suggested that the building was unfinishable, “at least until a new genius appears.”
The architect was Antonio Gaudí; the building, Barcelona’s modern cathedral. The first stone of the Sagrada Família – the Temple of the Holy Family – was laid in 1882. It will probably be as long again before the last is laid. Gaudí’s inspired and devotional work on the cathedral, which occupied the 50 years of his life until his death under the wheels of a tram in 1926, is a far cry from that of the technocrats who design most of today’s public buildings.
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23 July 1983 A look back at the 100–year history of Barcelona’s ‘cathedral for the poor’Faithful line the streets today as Pope Leo to bless Sagrada Família on centenary of Gaudí’s deathGeorge Orwell called it “one of...
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