Cultural Activity

La Sagrada Familia and Casa Batlló

Recently, I finally got to visit La Sagrada Familia and Casa Batlló. Before I arrived in Barcelona, I was told by a great number of people that I have to go visit La Sagrada Familia. I had seen many pictures of it but nothing compared to seeing it in person. The first time I saw it was during the light show at La Mercé. The light show seemed to bring it to life but it was to dark to really see the details of the building.  After the show, I decide that, sometime before I left, I would go see it during the day and go inside. The day finally came when I got to see La Sagrada Familia during the day and it was amazing. On the outside alone, Antoni Gaudí put so much detail into each part. It still seemed as if it was moving like during the light show. When I entered the church, I thought it would look like the churches I had seen in Rome but I was dead wrong. There were pillars laying in different directions, the ceiling looked somewhat like flowers and the stain glass looked crystal clear. It was really interesting to see the crucifix hanging in the air, almost like it is floating. I have never seen anything like that. I learned so much more when I walked through the area that explained Gaudí's thought process. He seemed to learn his designs from nature. For example, some pillars acted like trees and the gargoyles were animals found in nature. After learning this information, it was cool to look for things that resembled nature. I now understand why La Sagrada Familia is so important to Barcelona.

Next, I got to visit another Gaudí creation, Casa Batlló. I had walked by this place many times without realizing what it actually was. It was very interesting to learn about Gaudí's thought process during the creation of Casa Batlló The outside of the building is supposed to be interpreted in many different ways. There is no one thing it is supposed to be. Inside the house, I learned that Gaudí chose to create a lot of the parts in representation of the water. From the walls to the ceiling to the doors, many things were shaped like waves. He seems to bring the aspect of nature to inside the house. It was also very interesting to see how he manipulates the sunlight by using different colors and different size windows. Casa Batlló was a very surreal experience. I know have an even better understanding of why Antoni Gaudí is held to such a high regard around the world.