THE Holy Family It is undoubtedly one of the great symbols of Barcelona and the supreme and most emblematic work of the Catalan architect. Antonio Gaudiwho dedicated more than 40 years of his life to this temple, leaving aside the rest of the civil works to concentrate on its construction. However, he was only able to see some important parts completed before his death, such as the Nativity Façade and the Crypt. What many do not know are the secrets, religious symbolism and other architectural curiosities that await this iconic basilica, just as is the case with an irreparable error visible to the naked eyeignored by the greatest representative of Catalan modernism.
A layout error caused the appearance of a asymmetry of the bell towers of the Nativity facadebut Gaudí himself didn’t care, as explained by Efemèrides d’Arquitectura (@efemarq), who assures that he is known thanks to the memoirs of one of the architect’s closest collaborators, the Catalan designer and painter, Ricard Opisso. He began working with Gaudí when he was barely 12 years old, so he was a privileged witness to his life and the evolution of his work until 1904.
The asymmetry of the bell towers of the Sagrada Familia
THE Facade of the Nativitywhich was the first to be completed, is crowned by four bell towers. Although for many it goes unnoticed, if you look at it, the two bell towers on the left side are closer together than those on the right sidean asymmetry that is clearly seen if you look at this part of them.
For a long time, there was speculation about the presence of this irregularity and whether it responded to some type of theological message or symbolism that was part of the work itself. However, it was Ricard Opisso himself who, through his biography, dispelled all doubts, assuring that everything had to do with a technical error in the bookmore precisely a staking failure. Staking is the process by which what is present in the plan is captured at real scale on the ground, and there the project manager made a mistake about the distances.
What is most striking is not the fact that there was an error in the construction, but the reaction of Antonio Gaudí himself after detecting it. Opisso assured that the Catalan architect showed his total indifferencea disinterest which might be difficult to understand, but which his assistant was able to understand after his conversation with his counterpart Antoni Maria Gallissà. Asked by the latter about the inequality between the bell towers, Gaudí replied that “it had no importance, given that This irregularity of distances is also observed in the Parthenon itself.where the separations between column and column are never equal.
After noting that the facade of the Nativity did not present perfect symmetry, the facade of the Passion, built later, followed the same asymmetrical pattern maintain the structural logic and unity of the transept. To date, doubts remain about the facade of glorythe main one, with which everything points, given its structure, which will have symmetry.
The Gloria facade, planned as the main access to the temple from Calle de Mallorca and which includes the staircase and the bridge designed by Antonio Gaudí, continues its journey in compliance with the work schedule, with its work begins in 2027construction of which is expected to be completed in approximately 10 years.
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