http://collections.ecu.edu/files/original/20/567/Sagrada_OR.jpg 574f88f5412b3bc262306715050d2c06 http://collections.ecu.edu/files/original/20/567/Sagrada_OR_2.jpg bade4ba89caaf2f4cb8c9f344279c6bc http://collections.ecu.edu/files/original/20/567/Sagrada_Familia_-_Camille_Kresz_Benjamin_Fraser_[eds].pdf f77952ae90c396f1a98866bfdd9dd35b PDF Text Text Sagrada Família The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família located in the heart of the city of Barcelona began to be built in 1875. This expiatory temple is one of the most well-known monuments in Barcelona, and even Spain as a whole, for a variety of reasons. One of those reasons is because it is technically a construction project; one that has lasted a little over one hundred and thirty years. Indeed, the proposal for the project was made in 1870 and fundraising began in 1873 (Sobrer 2002: 205-06). Francisco de Paula del Villar was the first architect to work on the Sagrada Família project. Antoni Gaudí took over in at the end of 1883 when Francisco de Paula del Villar abandoned the project and he worked on it until his death in 1926. His detailed plans were used after his death until they were vandalized or destroyed during the Spanish Civil War a few years later (Sobrer 2002). The Sagrada Família is a very interesting looking building—unlike many of the surrounding buildings, it is not quadratic. The shapes of the building are soft and round. The steeples are rounded and pointed, with unique figurines at the top of each one. Another aspect of the church that adds to its beauty is the extensive use of alabaster. The windows are coated with layers, which allows the church to possess a distinguished look. Alabaster, the semi-soft stone, is usually flaxen or very faint in color—almost see-through. This contributes to the surreal atmosphere of the church and presents the viewer with a sense that they are in a space that is touched by heaven. Other rare procedures were used, like maqueta funicular, or unique touches like trencadís, the recycling of scrap materials to create convoluted mosaics (Sobrer 2002: 209-210). 1 �Antonia Gaudí was very well known for his naturistic designs. Intended to resemble a mountain of its own, the Sagrada Família will triangulate the two peaks that Barcelona sits at the foot of: Montjuïc and Tibidabo. Inside the Sagrada Família are many more allusions to the beauty of the natural world. There are stained glass windows, but unlike most stained glass windows that are present in many other churches, these windows are stained with bright greens and blues that allow more natural light to come into the cathedral. The shades of blue and green are reflected all around the room giving it the look and feel of a forest setting. The columns along the halls work with these colorful cascades to further the illusion of the forest. Having the plan of morphing Barcelona into a city interwoven with nature, Gaudí shaped the Sagrada Família in accordance with the outline of Montserrat, the holy mountain home to La Moreneta, the patron saint of Catalonia (Sobrer, 2002: 208). In doing so, Gaudí introduced the concept of faith through an architectural tribute to Barcelona. It is believed that Gaudí designed the church to reach a height slightly below that of Montjuïc (the highest point in Barcelona) so that God’s creation was “never superseded by man (Structure and form: web).” It was built to inspire religious and patriotic revival within the people. The church features three grand façades, so that no matter what entry point visitors choose they will experience something deeply profound. The Nativity Façade was the most directly influenced by Gaudí, being designed and completed under his direction. The Nativity portal is known as the one clear Catholic reformism. This façade is dedicated to the birth of Jesus and faces northeast toward the direction of the rising sun, covered in intricately sculpted designs and figures. The Passion façade was one of the features added after the loss of Gaudí and his coveted plans. This façade faces the West and was designed to strike fear in the viewer. Facing the setting sun, it shows a stark contrast to the intricacies of the Nativity Façade with its bare walls and columns made to imitate human bones. All of these design elements allude to the fact that 2 �this façade was designed to tell the story of the death and suffering of Christ. Construction began for the final façade in 2002, the Glory Façade. This façade will eventually be the main access to the central nave, dedicated to the journey of humankind through the acceptance of God, death, final judgment and eventually Glory. Throughout its history, the Sagrada Família has also been the subject of criticisms and controversies. After the Spanish Civil War, Barcelona was in shambles; the Franco regime caused all of Barcelona to become neglected and ignored. The architectural masterpiece was regarded as nothing more than “disposable rubbish,” with famous author George Orwell calling the monument “one of the most hideous buildings in the world” (Hughes 2004: 29-30). Thankfully, as time passed Barcelona began to redevelop itself as a city. Matters such as architecture began to gain importance again. Another controversy is the fact that today many locals to Barcelona are upset that tourists are funding a holy and sacred church, but a few accept that there are not many other way to receive a continuous large sum of money to complete the church. Its ongoing construction is now almost completely funded by tourists who flock to the site. On one hand, this is bringing tremendous tourist traffic to Barcelona and greatly impacting the economy. On the other hand, many are concerned that this tourist traffic is actually taking away from the cultural significance of the Sagrada Família. While tourism is definitely an effective way to raise funds, there are concerns that this form of funding obstructs the original intention of the Sagrada Família. Sobrer proudly proclaims that, “In its monumentality, the Sagrada Família is a triumph, an outburst of imagination and playfulness” (Sobrer 2002: 206). Even more, the Sagrada Família is a sign of perseverance. Despite the controversies, despite the lead architect dying before its completion, and despite the hardships of Barcelona’s past, the mighty building is not 3 �only still standing—its construction continues even today. This contributes to the building’s strength against time and its strength against life. No matter the obstacle, the Sagrada Família stays strong as almost a symbol: if it can go through the life that it has, it, along with Barcelona, can conquer anything. —Edited by Camille Kresz and Benjamin Fraser with text from Samuel Alvarado, Graziella Dominado, Rachel Harris, Amy Musgrave, Brooke Palmer, Lillie Rhodes, Sarah Spangler and Vyas Jayati 4 � http://collections.ecu.edu/files/original/20/567/Ashley_Weingartz_-_Sagrada_Familia.pdf 65d70938017133a3210fb6ae7e285372 PDF Text Text Sagrada Família The Sagrada Família is a powerful example of nature being brought into the actual architecture of the city. The Sagrada Família began construction in 1882, and since then has become an iconic tourist attraction in Barcelona. The building is said “to be a mountain itself instead rather than sit on one” which helps explain why tourists find it so awe-inspiring (Sobrer 2002: 206). The architect of the Sagrada Família was Antoni Gaudí and as Hughes notes in his book, Barcelona: The Great Enchantress, “The Sagrada Família was intended to be what its name says: a ‘temple,’ where Catalans (and, Gaudí hoped, eventually the whole Catholic world) would converge to do penance for the sins of ‘modernity’” (Hughes 2004: 130). The construction still continues today but while the construction began as a great symbol of religious ideals, it has become an icon of Barcelona’s tourism industry and is now funded as such (Sobrer 2002: 206). The larger question in all of this is whether the Sagrada Família is a uniquely Barcelonan conception or just an attempt to attract tourism and set itself on the world stage of other modern cities. Though it does follow the pattern of iconic cultural spaces being exploited and/or funded by tourists, the Sagrada Família is uniquely Barcelonan in its foresight to include nature in its architecture. The scene of the Tree of Life in the Sagrada Família from Teshgahara’s documentary about Antoni Gaudí shows how nature was integrated into this massive monument. Gaudí was intentional about his use of nature and as Sobrer notes, “Nowadays the emblem of the city’s architecture is the Sagrada Família, and the city’s reputation in the non-negligible world of tourism is built around Gaudí” (Sobrer 2002: 209). � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Digital Barcelona Subject The topic of the resource Sights around Barcelona Description An account of the resource The items (text documents, audio, video) used in the collection were created by the students from Fall 2016 HONS 2011.003: Barcelona: An Urban Cultural history class taught by Dr. Benjamin Fraser. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin Fraser Irina Swain Camille Kresz Language A language of the resource English, Spanish Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Digital Barcelona Date Created Date of creation of the resource. January 2017 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Irina Swain Camille Kresz Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creative Commons Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sagrada Família Subject The topic of the resource Sagrada Família Description An account of the resource The Sagrada Família is a church located in Barcelona, Spain Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Samuel Alvarado, Graziella Dominado, Rachel Harris, Amy Musgrave, Brooke Palmer, Lillie Rhodes, Sarah Spangler, Jayati Vyas, Camille Kresz, Benjamin Fraser Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Camille Kresz Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 02/21/2017 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creative Commons Language A language of the resource English, Spanish Type The nature or genre of the resource Document, Still Image Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 02/21/2017 Amy Musgrave Barcelona Brooke Palmer Graziella Dominado Jayati Vyas Lillie Rhodes Rachel Harris Sagrada Familia Samuel Alvarado Sarah Spangler Spain