Sunday Church Feature

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

"The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (official Catalan name; Spanish: Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia; "Expiatory Church of the Holy Family"), often simply called the Sagrada Família, is a massive, privately-funded Roman Catholic church that has been under construction in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain since 1882 and is not expected to be complete until at least 2026. A portion of the building's interior is scheduled to open for public worship and tours by September 2010[1].

"Considered the master-work of renowned Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), the project's vast scale and idiosyncratic design have made it one of Barcelona's (and Spain's) top tourist attractions for many years. The church is to be consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI on November 7, 2010, during his visit to Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona.[2]

"A total of eighteen tall towers are called for, representing in ascending order of height the Twelve Apostles, the four Evangelists, the Virgin Mary and, tallest of all, Jesus Christ." Wikipedia

Tourists can see evidence of the on going construction in the moving cranes and buckets of cement being carried to the top of the towers.

Photos: Taken of the Sangrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain, in April 2010 by SW.  The top photo is of the back entrance of the church and was taken from the park across the street  that features a large lagoon and children's play area.  The bottom photo is of the front entrance of the church and was taken from another park across the street which features a fenced in children's play area, a fenced in doggy area, and a rose garden.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Fam%C3%ADlia

Photo: Taken in April 2010 in Barcelona, Spain by SW.

Saturday Travel Feature
Customs and Columbus,  Barcelona, Spain


"This wonderful Customs house was built in 1902 by Enric Sagnier. He was a follower of Gaudí's style and he mixed Modernist and the Neo-Gothic aesthetics in this building, which is very rich in engravings and sculptures. There are lots of Barcelona's coat of arms along its façades with the characteristic bat over them. The Spanish coat of arms is over the main gate between two big eagles. Where mercantile loot was levied. The building is labeled Port de Barcelona. It appears that the Spanish-language version was scratched out and replaced with Catalan."Virtual Tourist-Port Vell, Barcelona, Spain.  Nearby is the Columbus Monument, starting off point for tourists from the cruise ships to explore Barcelona.

"The Columbus Monument ... is a 60 m (197 ft) tall monument for Christopher Columbus at the lower end of La Rambla, Barcelona, Spain. It was constructed for the Exposición Universal de Barcelona and is located at the site where Columbus returned to Spain after his first voyage to the Americas.[1] The monument serves as a reminder that Barcelona is where Christopher Columbus reported to Queen Isabella and Ferdinand after Columbus' most famous trip.[2]

"At the very top of the monument stands a 7.2 m (24 ft) tall bronze statue atop a 40 m (131 ft) tall Corinthian column. The statue was sculpted by Rafael Atché and is said to depict Columbus pointing towards the New World with his right hand, while holding a scroll in the left. As it was sited, instead of pointing to the west towards the New World, the statue points east towards Columbus's supposed home city of Genoa.[3] The statue is atop a socle, on which the word "Tierra" (land) is inscribed.

"The column, hung with a device bearing an anchor stands on an octagonal pedestal from which four bronze winged Victories or Phemes take flight towards the four corners of the world, above paired griffins. Four buttresses against the octagonal pedestal bear portrait medallions that depict people related to Columbus:...An elevator inside the column takes visitors up to a viewing platform at the top.  The canted octagonal plinth is inset with eight bronze bas-relief panels that depict important scenes in Columbus's first voyage to the Americas:...The base of the monument is a 20 m (66 ft) wide circle, with four staircases. Each staircase is flanked by two lions....All of the funding came from Spanish sources and the entire construction (labor and materials) was done by Catalans. Construction began in 1882 and was completed in 1888 in time for the Exposición Universal de Barcelona.[4]" Wikipedia

 Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Monument,_Barcelona

Photo: Taken in April 2010 in Barcelona, Spain by SW.