We had a couple of tours booked for today, the first one at the Casa Batllo across the street. This started out as a home owned by Josef Battlo who hired Antoni Gaudi to renovate it in 1904. It is one of his most impressive works and a UNESCO designated building. The facade is covered with broken ceramic tiles.
There are very few right angles in this building.
Very organic with a lot of the inspiration taken from the motion of water. The parlour...
A large atrium in the middle of the building provides lots of natural light.
The "attic"....
And a freeform rooftop terrace... these are some of the chimneys and the stairwell
After touring this building, we set out on a self guided walking tour through the Gracia area, near where we are staying. Once you get a few blocks from the high end designer stores lining our street, you enter what used to be the village of Gracia, a mixture of bohemian and gentrified streets. Some of the more prominent apartments with unique balconies...
Every few blocks you encounter parks or squares full of families enjoying a drink while musicians and children are at play. I think I figured out why so many people are outside. In our time here, I have not seen a single family house. Everyone lives in low rise / medium rise apartments with no yard or outdoor space, hence the proliferation of street activity!
And of course, a neighbourhood market...
We stopped for a pizza lunch on our way home at this lovely spot (not too many pizzerias here).
We spent an hour on the terrace relaxing in the sun before striking out for our guided tour of La Sagrada Familia. It was about a half hour walk there past some more interesting buildings, stores and markets.
Our first up close view of Sagrada Familia was WOW!
Our tour included a group guide who provided an excellent history of the development of the building and a look forward to what it will be when completed in 2026 (the current projected completion date). The east facade and its four spires was mostly completed by the time of Gaudi's death in 1926. It contains an interpretation of the Nativity in its intricate sculptures.
The west facade is complete with the exception of a bit of one of its four spires. It depicts the Passion.
The third facade has not been constructed yet and will depict the Glory. When completed, there will be a total of 18 spires (7.9 are currently completed). The tallest will be 170 m making this the tallest church in the world. In 2010, work was completed to enclose the nave and the church was able to be consecrated by the Pope. It's the interior design that really impressed me...
We left just as the sun was setting providing a beautiful profile of the church. You can see the foundation for the highest spire on the left.
No comments:
Post a Comment