Here's a way to fund the building of a cathedral... have tourists queue up hour after hour... day after day... year after year... century after century... sell them tickets to look at what you've built so far... and use the proceeds to pay for next year's building. On the side you can ask for donations from any friendly person wanting to grant you a million or two.
That's not the financial planning you expect from the Catholic Church building a magnificent cathedral (perhaps political parties... but not the church)... but that is how Sagrada Familia is being built. The driving force behind this unique building was Antoni Gaudí... who has laid down building themes and techniques that succeeding architects have followed. The poor bloke got run over by a tram... just after a fire destroyed a lot of his drawings. Barcelona council would complain to him about slow process with the building. "My Clients are not concerned about any finishing date", was his reply. He needn't have worried about finances today... the queues of visitors were longer than St Peters Basilica... and the entry prices were higher... and the outcome was more satisfying.
Just say you were building the world's best Basilica... how would you go about it? Now I know a few of you have not been keeping up to date with your religious studies in the last year... you may need a second to answer that question. So, let me give you a hand... you would make the interior of the church look like a forest, right? You would design all the interior columns to look like tree trunks... branching high to support the ceiling... decorated to look like leaves... right.
The next question is a little more difficult... what religious icons would you use to decorate your church? Some smarty-pants may say "None... none at all"... and you would be just about right. Antoni Gaudí had kept the interior of his Basilica clear of all religious icons... except for one crucifix suspended from the ceiling down one end... the building committee wanted the building consecrated as a Basilica... so some accommodation needed to be made with Rome. Walk into St Peters in Rome... and it's like walking into the back yard of Steptoe and Son... by comparison, walking into Sagrada Familia... you feel space... quiet... solitude... relaxed... refreshed.
What would you do with the external appearance of the Basilica? Antoni Gaudí had four separate themes... one for each side. He built the Nativity eastern side of the Basilica to tell the Nativity story the way he thought it should be told. There are angels, sheep, wise men, shephards.. you name it... they're all there... all in the right place so that the good citizens of Barcelona are in no doubt about how to interpret the meaning of the birth of Jesus. The western side of the exterior has been completed... by a different architect and sculptor... telling the Passion theme... the stations of the cross... the story of Jesus' suffering... all chiselled in a cold chunky style... reflecting the supreme sacrifice made on the cross.
Only 60% of construction has been completed... can't tell you what awaits us on the north and south sides. Everyone hopes that the Basilica will be completed by the 100th anniversary of Antoni Gaudí's death in 2024. In many ways it doesn't really matter if the building is never finished... part of its mystery is the suspense of what will appear next. You look up at the workmen and know there are still some budding Michelangelos chipping some stones... creating beauty.
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