Sagrada Familia - The Inside Story: Part 2

After the busy, ornate exterior, the main church body seems almost spare in comparison, with much interplay between the stonework and the light admitted by the windows. It is still very much a building site, but nonetheless there is a feeling of deep peace within.

These glorious pillars are clearly built to resemble tree trunks, so the nave is like an avenue of trees, the ceiling a canopy of branches and leaves in the abstract. Not surprisingly, Gaudi was very much influenced by nature and there was a fascinating exhibition on this theme below in the crypt but sadly it had closed by the time we got down there. However, I think I get the general idea....

The jagged forms you can see above remind me of the palm leaves I saw in the park over the orad, and indeed all over Barcelona, but the lines are so clean and essential, a masterpiece of design and stonemasonry.

I love the golden flowers cast of the ceiling by the low, late-afternoon January sunlight: so simple but so wonderful.

Sagrada Familia - The Inside Story: Part 1

Before we enter the Sagrada Familia, let us reflect upon the ornament of the exterior, as reflected in the pond in the park across the road. This has plenty of benches for the weary to rest their legs and feast their eyes - although some had chosen to take a nap on theirs.

I love the pattern on the ceiling of the hallway where we queued for the lift to the roof.

I also like this window there - a potential design source for shisha work or cut work in the style of broderie anglais, perhaps?

Fortunately, the queue was not long, but long enough to appreciate another facet of this small area of the building.