SAGRADA FAMILIA by Gregori Leon Crespo (Spain)

Probably, La Sagrada Familia is one of Barcelona’s best-known architectural monuments. Most of you have already visited it and know all the important features about it.

ANTONI GAUDÍ was born in Reus (my birth town) and started the Modernist style in that area but it was not until he moved to Barcelona that he found the money to set all his creativity free. The Modernist style was thought to reflect how the buildings, houses and cities would be in a hundred years ahead, so now it is the time to judge it. Has his vision come true?

ANTONI GAUDÍ was essentially a man of faith, devoted to his work and to worship of God throughout every building he was involved with. He was a workaholic with no distractions other that his faith and his passion for architecture. He suffered from mild spectrum autism which probably helped to shape his personality. The way he died, run over by an electric tram, indicates just how involved the man was in his work. 

Another curiosity is the Catalan saying: ”This is taking longer than the construction of La Sagrada Familia” that we often use, since it started in 1882 and it is still running. There are two main reasons, however, for that. First, GAUDÍ wrote in his will that no public money was to be put in this construction, so it is 100% funded by private donations (from some decades ago, there is an NGO running the commercial visits so there is an annual budget and some expected timetable in comparison with the stop-and-go approach that it was long ago). Second, GAUDÍ didn’t leave any detailed drawings of what the final project should look like; consequently, every new element is a big opportunity for every part to stand out.

On May 22^nd, 2024, the construction of the penultimate block of the Jesus’s Tower started and so, this Tower emerged to be surrounded by the Four Gospel Towers. You can take a look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPH8VRplvr8. With this, the Sagrada is getting to, unfortunatelly, its conclusion. We sincerely hope that is not the case.

Eurogrup Tax & Legal, the City of Barcelona and La Sagrada Familia are looking forward to your visit.