MADRID – The Sagrada Familia is now higher: thanks to the Tower of the Virgin Mary, one of the elements of the symbolic monument of Barcelona – imagined by Antoni Gaudí more than a century ago -, which has become a reality in recent months. On the top, a new star-shaped sculpture of glass and steel has stood a few days ago, which now allows the basilica to reach 138 meters in height at its highest point. It is the most recent step towards completing the project of the great modernist architect, never completely completed. But uncertainty still reigns over the final date of completion of the works.
The new tower of the Sagrada Familia, say its managers, “changes the skyline” of Barcelona. And the city now shudders for one of the most anticipated moments: the complete lighting of the new construction, scheduled for the first time tonight. It will be the final act of the inauguration of the tower, for which a date charged with religious symbolism has been chosen, such as the feast of the Immaculate Conception. A day that began with a popular culture event, held in the morning inside the Basilica. And with other events planned: first a mass, celebrated by the cardinal and archbishop of Barcelona Juan José Omella, then a blessing ceremony.
To finish the construction of the Tower of the Virgin Mary, it took about 5 years. This is the first completed in almost half a century, explain the project managers. To achieve it, they assure, the will of its author was respected. “Gaudí would recognize his work,” Jordi Faulí, the current construction manager, recently told Catalan public radio.
The main creator of the Sagrada Familia (born in Reus in 1852 and died in Barcelona in 1926, after being hit by a tram), who dedicated himself body and soul to the temple in particular in the last years of his life, had imagined his basilica with 18 towers. The highest of those he designed, however, is not that of the Virgin Mary, but that of Jesus, currently under construction. At the end of the works, it should exceed 172 meters in height.
However, there is still uncertainty about when this could happen: the Covid pandemic has forced those responsible for the construction of the Sagrada Familia to review the goal of finishing it in 2026, due to the reduction in revenues from visits and donations, the two sources of financing for construction sites. “We still don’t know when the Sagrada Familia will end. It depends on many factors,” explained Faulí. (HANDLE).
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Source From: Ansa
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