It is the Sagrada Familia, the Church of the Holy Family, and has been under construction for 130 years. A detail of the interior was the Bing wallpaper for yesterday, so ornate yet modern that I had to follow it up.
Whatever angle you look at it from, interior or exterior, it is extremely dramatic. I don't know that I actually like it, but it certainly begs to be wandered around and stared at for many hours. Just about everything I saw from the architect, Antoni Gaudi (perfect name), immediately suggested some name from imaginative fiction: Gormenghast, Great Smials, Jabba the Hutt, Arakeen.
Gaudi comes slightly after Neuschwanstein, which was designed by a stage designer, so putting outrageous fiction into huge habitable stone buildings may have simply been the rage. But criminy, the Spaniard makes the German work look like Shaker furniture, doesn't he?
Gaudi did Flashy so well.
ReplyDeleteHe's been my favorite ever since architecture school. Do yourself a favor and Google all his stuff.
ReplyDeleteI use Bing, so I noticed that wallpaper, too. I think it's the first time I've ever seen interior shots of the Sagrada Familia. It's always reminded me of the kind of sandcastle you make by dribbling wet sand.
Me too Texan 99!
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