Katfish Kapers: February 2018

I've been to Barcelona a couple times but somehow was too busy to check out one of it's iconic landmarks. Don't ask me why, but I always thought the sand castle looking building in the distance wasn't worth going out of the way to actually visit (as Bug Bunny would say - "What a maroon", or, as I would say - "What an idiot").

I am referring to, of course, the Sagrada Familia (full name - Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family).

I took this picture from the deck of the ship back in 2014. You have to admit, from this distance the place looks like a disheveled mess.

If you travel Europe much it isn't hard to become somewhat jaded about churches. There's plenty of them to go around (Another Bloody Church). The Sagrada does not fall into that category. In fact, it doesn't fall into any category at all - it's a one-of-a-kind church. And it is stunning.

To understand the Sagrada you have to get to know this guy:

This is the famous architect Antoni Gaudi (1852 - 1926), an eccentric, creative, genius. Tony was also a very devout Roman Catholic. His work earned him the nickname "God's architect". Gaudi is the best known practitioner of the Spanish Modernista movement popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Using today's lexicon Gaudi was amazing at thinking "outside the box". I mean that literally. For example, Gaudi transformed boxy looking buildings like this one:

This apartment building is right across the street from the images that will follow. You could make the case that you're better off living across the street from a Gaudi masterpiece than living in one - you see his work from all your windows.

Gaudi was hired to spiff up a private home the size of an apartment building (5 stories). This is Casa Batllo (named after old man Batllo who wrote the check - Batllo was a prominent textile industrialist). He wanted to have the baddest house on the block (he got it!)

By Amadalvarez - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18720854

The underlying building was erected in 1875. The facade renovation was completed in 1904

By Mstyslav Chernov - Self-photographed, http://mstyslav-chernov.com/, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25977989

From the inside.

This reminds me of shark jaw cartilage

The wonderful colored tile/glass was actually trash picked from the dumpster of the Pelegri Glass Works.

Baby Boomer knee joint?

The Batllo family lived here until 1954. Today the building is a tourist attraction and used for special events and meetings.

In 1872 a Spanish bookseller by the name of Joey Bocabella went to the Vatican and was particularly impressed by this basilica in the Italian town of Loreto:

Basilica Loreto

The Basilica Loreto is well known as it supposedly enshrines the home of Mary. Old Joey musta been one helluva successful bookseller because when he got home to Barcelona he decided to build a neighborhood church based on the lines of the Loreto. I hope he had a sense of humor because the Sagrada isn't even close to the Loreto. They're both churches, but that's about it.

Construction of the Sagrada began in 1882 under the architect Francisco Paula de Villar. Tony Gaudi took over the project a year later (at age 31) and it became his life's work until he kicked the bucket at age 73. When he died, the project was less than 20% finished. When asked about the slow progress of construction Gaudí is said to have remarked: "My client is not in a hurry".

1905 (23 years of work)

The funding of the construction is not quite what you'd expect for a normal Catholic church. The Sagrada has always been funded entirely by private donations. Today they make a profit from ticket sales (around $20 to get in) to the 2.5M yearly visitors. You might think that Barceloneans were immediate fans. They weren't. The Sagrada will compete with the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Uvula across town (errr, make that St. Eulalia. note; do not Google St. Eulalia. the story of her martyrdom is pretty gruesome):

By Mromanchenko - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29556578

This is the seat of the Arch Bishop and predates the Sagrada by 400 years.

The Sagrada reminds me of a black hole. No, not what you're thinking - a hole in the ground into which you continually toss money. No, it reminds me of a black hole because of the event horizon (the event horizon for a real black hole is that point where you got too close and it's impossible to escape). Same thing with the Sagrada. It looks like an unmitigated mess until you get close enough to get a good look at it. Call it a block away. Once you see it in detail - that's it, you're a fan for life.

The Exterior

Trying to make sense of the whole thing is a little difficult. It looks gloriously chaotic, in fact it's not. Each of the compass directions has a theme.

"The Nativity facade to the East, the Passion facade to the West, and the Glory facade to the South (yet to be completed). The Nativity Facade was built before work was interrupted in 1935 and bears the most direct Gaudí influence."

If you really want to drill down into all the symbolism -

"the three porticos (on the Nativity Facade) are separated by two large columns, and at the base of each lies a turtle or a tortoise (one to represent the land and the other the sea; each are symbols of time as something set in stone and unchangeable). In contrast to the figures of turtles and their symbolism, two chameleons can be found at either side of the façade, and are symbolic of change." Yeah, whatever. The closer you look the more cool details emerge.

All in all, the Sagrada Família is symbolic of the lifetime of Christ. That being said, it's more fun to just enjoy each view:

Part of the passion facade - designed to be more austere (as if made of bones). The columns are supposed to represent a skeleton.

According to Wikipedia - A bronze figure situated on a bridge creating a link between the towers of Saint Bartholomew and Saint Thomas represents the Ascension of Jesus.

"Sigh, here we go again. It's the fourth quarter and the Browns still haven't scored."

"Some jerk backed his SUV into this column and now I gotta move it back into place. Damn this thing's heavy"

Guy on left - "Holy cow Edna. He took one look at your face and passed right out."

"Aw crap. I forgot my ATM PIN number again"

"Man, I just don't understand Bitcoins. I feel like I'm missing out"

This is what the surface looks like up close. Ironically it sort of does look like wet beach sand (under a magnifying glass).

The most distinctive structures of the church are, of course, the spires. When complete (they're pushing hard for 2026 -the centenary of Gaudí's death) there will be 18 spires. Gaudí's original design calls for a total of eighteen spires, representing in ascending order of height the Twelve Apostles, the Virgin Mary, the four Evangelists and, tallest of all, Jesus Christ.

"The central spire of Jesus Christ is to be surmounted by a giant cross; its total height (170 metres (560 ft)) will be one meter less than that of Montjuïc hill in Barcelona as Gaudí believed that his creation should not surpass God's."

don't ask - I have no idea which one this is

note the stairwell

Upscale pigeon lofts

When you look at the Sagrada it's easy to think it's underlying construction might be as whimsical as scenes on it. No worries. It is solidly built.

Lots of steel is hidden away (this is one of the new spires).

Notice all the steel bolts protruding from this yet-to-be-decorated wall. That is what all the artwork is solidly anchored to.

looking at the building's underwear

This hurts way worse than a HS football helmet

Kiss me you fool

Yesssss kisssss her. Apple anyone?

Each side of the Sagrada has a different artistic style:

It's a high fly ball. Going, going, going...

In this picture (if you look closely - I didn't notice it at the time), you can get a hint of whats to come on the interior.

Bit of a temporal discordance here? - Not sure when the music is depicted to be playing. The violin is from the 16th century, the mandolin and bassoon are 18th century.

back to the shark jaw motif

Man I hope this is the last horse race for today. I can't feel my lips anymore.

Oh no. What did the cat bring home this time?

The Interior

Crossing the threshold into the church came as a bit of a surprise to me. After seeing how detailed the relief is on the exterior, I figured the interior would be even more exquisite. It is, but Gaudi switched from statues and scenes to light. LOTS of light. Note - I have not enhanced the colors that follow. This is what it really looks like.

Oops, wrong picture. This is CJ's first apartment.

The interior is just spectacular. It's breathtaking. You can hear your fellow visitor gasp when they first see it. But it's a very different style than the outside.

Joseph

Looking up

More ceiling

Gave myself a case of "warbler neck" from looking up so much.

"warbler neck" is an old bird watching term

In other words - a neck ache

Worth it

Terrific spiral staircase.

or if you prefer, an elevator

Otis should be humbled

I have a theory about why the interior seems so different (not much of a radical theory, don't expect to see my picture next to Elon Musk's in the history books). Gaudi worked on the Sagrada for 43 years, but when he died in 1926 I'm betting not much work had been dedicated to the interior. That being said, you may wonder about the plans he left behind. There aren't any. Gaudi wasn't comfortable with paper drawings. A lot of his work was planned out with models. During the Spanish Civil War in 1936 some bonehead anarchist set fire to his workshop and wiped out his plans. His successors have done a terrific job carrying on, but the interior looks way more modern the even the great Gaudi could have conceived. It's very clean and impressive.

This is phase one of the organ.

Most of it is hidden away

Like the Sagrada, the organ (made down the street by Blancafort Orgueners de Montserrat) will be a masterpiece when finished. This is what it sounds like now (click on link) Sagrada organ . Impressive for sure, but nothing like what the plan calls for. Currently the organ has only 1,492 pipes (only? well, actually yes - only. The Wanamaker Organ at Macy's has 28,677 pipes). When complete, the Sagrada will have 8 organs and a total of more than 8,000 pipes. Who could play something like that?

For all us Monty Python fans

This would help:

Each organ can be played separately or they can all be slaved to one master console. I want to come back and hear it in all it's glory. It would be worth the trip. I'd also like to see the air compressor that powers it.

Probably won't need this much power

This is the choir loft. Room for 1,000 singers. Gaudi went to the trouble to place vaulted arches behind them for good acoustics but our guide said they also added 800 microphones for good measure.

The Sagrada wasn't consecrated until 2010. They couldn't do it before because the Sagrada didn't have a roof until 2005 (123 years after construction started)

By Etan J. Tal - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10346056

This guy did the honors

Pope Benedict XVI
By Kancelaria Prezydenta RP - prezydent.pl, GFDL 1.2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11813183

I find the consecration a bit amusing as 100 bishops and 300 priests were on hand to offer communion. Why is this amusing? - because the Sagrada is a church. It isn't a basilica. The best the pope could do was make it a minor basilica (there are only 4 major basilicas - and they all in Rome, yet there are 1,757 minors). The difference between a church and a basilica is that a bishop has to be in charge of a basilica. There isn't one at the Sagrada which should make for interesting catholic church politics (sort of like the mayor of NYC vs. the governor of Rhode Island).

Odds and ends