Sagrada Familia, part II
The telenovela continues…
Previously on Sagrada Familia…
Once upon a time, a bookseller named Josep Maria Bocabella decided that Barcelona needed a unique church dedicated to Saint Joseph. But, like every good drama, problems arose, and construction was put on hold… until a certain Antoni Gaudí entered the scene…SPOILER ALERT!
Keep reading to uncover the wildest twists in the Sagrada Familia’s story
Enter Gaudí: The Master of Spectacle
November 1883. Gaudí took over the construction of the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. At first, he keeps a low profile, observing the terrain. But if there’s one thing we know about Gaudí, it’s that he was NOT born to stay silent. Like Lady Di, he was one of a kind. His first target: the crypt. What did he do? Light, realism, design, pure Art Nouveau, the trendiest style of the time.
The funding of Sagrada Familia
However, the construction got so far that they ran out of funds when the art was about to explode in a creative bang. It was after ten years that a big fat check came for the Sagrada Familia Fund with more than half a million pesetas of the time, about a million dollars nowadays. Who was the donor? Some rumors say that Bocabella left all his fortune to his beloved church at his death in 1892. Call the FBI, it is still unknown!
Gaudí almost ran mad with all of that cash, his dreams are going to become a real possibility! He was a natural workaholic. That fantasy and life goal was re-shaping Sagrada Familia and he did an amazing job.
The idea was to have a whole new stunning Sagrada (tallest church in Barcelona with its peak at 172,5m, 3 full facades with 18 towers, apse, and 5 naves). Using the finest materials, and with a new superstar, Jesus instead of Joseph. It was so immense that at the time, even Gaudí knew he wouldn’t be able to finish the construction work during his lifetime and that was why he developed major guidelines and designs and left room for the newer generations. The never-ending story, like Dr. Who? Plot twist! It is Drama Number Two: Death & War, but since this one is a big-time drama and we all know what happens in war we’ll skip this sad part.
A Tragic, Dramatic Ending
Let’s hop in the DeLorean to June 7, 1926. Gaudí, as always lost in his thoughts, leaves mass at Sant Felip Neri. Walking through the center of Barcelona, distracted, he doesn’t look before crossing…and BOOM. A tram hits him.
Covered in blood, unconscious, dressed in shabby clothes with his hipster beard, no one recognizes him. He is taken to a charity hospital, mistaken for a homeless man. Two days later, the whole city is panicked, searching for him.
On June 9, a priest from the Sagrada Familia finds him.
On June 10, Gaudí passes away as a John Doe.
The next day, 12,000 people bid him farewell in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia.
War & Resurrection
Gaudí left everything ready: blueprints, 3D models (well, for the time), documents… But in 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, everything went down the drain. Anarchists attacked the Sagrada Familia, destroyed Gaudí’s workshop, burned models and designs… and the project came to a halt.
No money. No plans. Nothing.
But this is where the magic begins…
After the war, some workers and collaborators came together and rebuilt the project from scratch. Like a puzzle with thousands of missing pieces. Pure resurrection.
Since then, each generation has contributed its share:
New funds (donations, ticket sales)
New technologies and materials
Revolutionary techniques
A happy ending? The project was supposed to be finished in 2026… but with COVID and other delays, by late 2025, it remains a mystery.
To be continued…?
Of course! The Sagrada Familia never stops surprising us!
Thanks for sharing this story with me. See you in the next chapter!
Bye-Bye!
Do you know where it is? Here is a map to solve this matter 😉
