Have you ever heard the saying “That’s gaudy” or maybe you’ve used that saying yourself at some point in your life. Perhaps more than once in your life. I know I have. There have been times when my husband has showed me something or asked for my opinion about something and my first thought was “That’s gaudy” – meaning it’s a bit much.
Funny thing is I always thought that was just a saying. Turns out it’s not. You see my husband loves to do research on the places we are going to visit and on our last vacation he did some research on Barcelona, Spain and on a Church that’s there. It turns out that the phrase “That’s gaudy” is believed to come from the name of the man who started to build The Basilica of the Sagrada Familia. He didn’t want to make anything ordinary. On the contrary this man loved to make stuff that would not only wow people, but they would think that it was way too much. In other words it was Gaudi.
This builder, sculpture if you will, died almost a hundred years ago, but the city of Barcelona is still working on the masterpiece of a Cathedral. The outside of this place is beyond amazing. Gaudi was able to put so much detail into the tiniest of pieces. He has so many Bible scenes built into the outside of this Church that you really need to take a good look.
When my family and I were there my first reaction to this Cathedral was WOW. I had no idea it was going to be that impressive. The more we looked the more we could see. There was Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus. There was King Herod’s Soldier killing all the infants from ages 2 years old and under. This is all on the “nativity” side of the church. Gaudi died before the building was complete, but over the years they have continued to build the cathedral based on his designs. On the “Passion” side there are more carvings. There are many more scenes, including the man holding the cross for Jesus and Jesus holding his cross. There is so much more to see as well and that was only on the outside!
On the inside of this Cathedral you could see different bright colors of green and blue. There are grey pillars that are so high you would think they could reach heaven. I mean there is a reason why people think that phrase is about him — because it is “That’s Gaudi”. You only need to take one look at this Cathedral both the inside and outside to understand how they came up with that phrase. At the same time this truly is an amazing place to visit. To stare at. To look up at in amazement from the outside. To walk around in. To try to find all the little details. To be able to say “Wow that really is Gaudi” and know that it’s his work you are looking at.
Another amazing thing was that they are still building it! The city is hoping to have it done by 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death. So between now and then when you visit the building is constantly changing.
Kathleen Smith is an indie Author, blogger and she has her own podcast Kathleen’s Korner. You can read or listen about her life in Brooklyn and Upstate NY . You can also either read or listen to her personal story of how she and her husband kept their marriage together through 3 miscarriages in Miscarriages My Story