Holy Gaudi in Barcelona. If you don’t know Antoni Gaudi was a famous architect born in the mid 1800s and his work is extremely recognisable and unique. He spent a good portion of his life in Barcelona so the majority of his work is here including some that he started and is still being completed.
So the rundown of all the Gaudi items we saw are:
- Casa Batllo
- Placa de Gaudi
- Guell Palace
- Casa Mila
- Casa Vicens
- Parc Guell
- Casa del Guarda
- La Sagrada Familia
Now the Guell family were really involved with Gaudi which is why he designed multiple items for the family — one being the house they lived and one being a park designed with his financial backing. Gaudi lived at the park for a number of years to keep an eye. The Hansel and Gretel houses are really recognisable, but the rest of the park is likely a bit unknown.
Casa Mila was built as a wedding celebration for the Milas family. They ultimately lived on one floor and rented out the rest — which is how the building remains today. Some residential homes and some office buildings, along with the museum open to the public.
La Casa Vicens was designed for a tile company owner (if you can’t tell immediately).
La Casa Batllo might be his most recognisable home which is in the middle of commercial Barcelona these days.
La Sagrada Familia is probably his most famous work — however he never saw the finish of construction, and either have we because it’s still under construction! Construction began in 1882 and continues today with the estimated completion date being 2026 (the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death), however the pandemic may have put a damper on this as construction halted for a number of months. While it’s not completed based on Gaudi’s original plans, it has begun church services about 12 years ago and you can attend mass on Sundays. We chose not to go inside since it’s not completed yet (maybe we will make a trip back out just for this when it’s done), but the pictures from the inside look really unique. We can then celebrate the anniversary by seeing Gaudi’s resting place since he was buried inside the church already.
