The Sagrada Familia, a before and after for Barcelona.
If you had to think about the city of Barcelona, what is the first image that would come to your mind? For many the first picture of the city is associated with the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia. The temple has become an internationally recognized icon, able to attract millions of people year after year.
Therefore, we thought it appropriate to delve into the history, curiosities, relevance and construction of this iconic monument. Join us on this journey full of surprises.
Sagrada Familia’s history
The temple of the Sagrada Familia is the masterpiece of its creator, the architect Antoni Gaudí. What few people know is that initially the work was not commissioned to him, but to the architect Francisco de Paula.
In 1877 Francisco was commissioned by the Association of Devotees of St. Joseph, an entity created by the bookseller Josep Maria Bocabella to raise funds for the construction of a temple that would contribute to the recovery of spiritual faith.
Six years after receiving the commission, Francisco was forced to abandon the project due to disagreements with Josep Maria Bocabella himself and his assistant, the architect Joan Martorell.
As a result, a young Antoni Gaudí, only 31 years old, took it over. Antoni Gaudí possessed an exceptional creative capacity and from 1883 until his death in 1926, he led the project and devised much of the detail that has given the basilica its uniqueness
Since its beginnings, the Sagrada Familia has been entirely financed privately and later on with the entrance fees of its many visitors in the 1990s. This fact has influenced the deadlines for the construction of the temple since in some periods the works had to be stopped due to lack of funds.
The Sagrada Familia Basilica faithfully preserves the legacy of Antoni Gaudí. Of a modernist nature, in every detail of the temple one can observe the differential features of Gaudí’s works: the constant exploration of geometry and volume, the admiration for the elements of nature and his strong religious beliefs and knowledge.
These characteristics that which cannot find in any other work of art in the planet turned the Sagrada Familia into one of the 25 most visited monuments in the world, with about of 4.5 million visitors per year. This has given the city of Barcelona an enormous tourist attraction and has boosted its economic activity.
We could spend entire days shelling out all the details and surprises that the Sagrada Familia gives us. We’ll leave it for another time. If you allow us, we would like to share our particular history with the Sagrada Familia and how it has marked our lives forever.
El nostre granet de sorra en la història de la Sagrada Família
Although our grandfather Pitu had already delivered some granite blocks through intermediaries, it was not until 1998 that our paths crossed definitively.
Everything began when a technician of the temple met us when we placed the sculpture of Sant Josep de Calassanç. Poc després va visitar la nostra pedrera i de seguida es va formar una estreta col·laboració que encara perdura.
The first deliveries consisted of snake-eye granite blocks and plates from Òrrius for the columns of the apse, in the year 2000. Then came the first order for the Sagrada Familia made in our workshop, the 22 columns of the Glory facade, from 2003 to 2007 This was followed by the production of the foundation columns, a sculptural group of 18 columns located on the Passion facade.
We have also been lucky enough to participate actively in the production of sculptures such as the imposing figures of Saint Anthony and Saint Benedict, as well as different sculptures of the cymatium. All these productions have allowed us to work hand in hand artistes de primer nivell com Manuel Cusachs, Etsuro Sotoo, Francesc Fajula o Lau Feliu.
A turning point in our history
Tal i com el temple de la Sagrada Família va suposar una revolució per a la ciutat també ho ha sigut per a Granits Barbany. Thanks to the confidence and the dripping of orders that have come to us from the Sagrada Familia we have been able to grow and develop a workshop that we could not have imagined in our wildest dreams a long time ago.
In 2003 we received the proposal to make the 22 columns of the Glory facade, some solid columns in one-meter-high drums. La nostra oferta econòmica els convenia, però degut a les limitacions del nostre antic taller els terminis no els encaixaven.
It was then that we thought about a different production process, which was a determining factor for executing that order, and a starting point for future productions. Tant fou així que el que ens havíem proposat acabar en 2 anys, finalment ho vàrem poder fer en 6 mesos.
L’adquisició de tecnologia puntera tingué molt a veure en aquesta fita i des de llavors ens ha permès adaptar-nos a les exigències del segle XXI.
Just as we have contributed to the Sagrada Familia, with the combination of our trade, craftsmanship and technology, we want our workshop to be the starting point where your project becomes reality. If you have a stone project in mind you can contact us here.
