The Long and Difficult History of Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, Spain

Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, more commonly known as the Sagrada Familia, is an unfinished Roman Catholic minor basilica located in Barcelona, Spain. The basilica was designed by the renowned Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi, though its construction had begun a year before Gaudi took over the Sagrada Familia project from a fellow architect.

Consequently, the basilica’s design was radically changed. In the decades that followed, the construction of the Sagrada Familia progressed slowly, and till this day, is yet to be completed. Nevertheless, it is expected that the Sagrada Familia will be completed in 2026, in time to mark the 100^th anniversary of Gaudi’s death.

The Beginnings of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

The Sagrada Familia is located Eixample district of Barcelona and was originally intended to be a typical Neo-Gothic church. As a matter of fact, the man who conceived the idea of the Sagrada Familia, a bookseller by the name of Josep Maria Bocabella, found his inspiration in the Basilica della Santa Casa in Loreto, Italy when he made a trip to Rome in 1872.