top of page
Antoni Gaudí
A Famous Architect
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was born on 25 June 1852 in the town of Reus in Catalonia. His name is Catalan and not Castilian Spanish. He grew up to be an architect of the Modernist movement, also known as Art Nouveau.
Antoni attended the Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura, in Barcelona, where he studied architecture. He designed lots of buildings (and even lamp posts) but his most famous creation is the enormous church in Barcelona called La Sagrada Familia (The Holy Family). Its official name in the Catalan language is Templo Expiatori de la Sagrada Família.
It was designed with a total of eighteen spires for the following reason:- twelve for the twelve apostles, four for the four evangelists, one for Mary and one for Jesus. This amounts to eighteen! However, not all the spires have been completed. It is an unfinished basilica, even though construction began in the 1880s! The work continues. It is built in a Gothic style.
Since 1940, a group of architects have continued to construct the basilica. It is planned to be finally completed in the year 2026! This will be exactly one hundred years after Gaudí's death! It is amazing to think that, after such a long time, the building is still under construction!
Although it is incomplete, La Sagrada Familia is one of the most visited places in Spain.
When asked why he was so slow in building the church, he replied,
'My client (God) is not in a hurry!'
Another famous building designed by Antoni Gaudí is Casa Batlló in Barcelona. (Images below.) The house is named after the Batlló family who owned it. The local nickname for the house is Casa de los Huesos - meaning House of Bones.
_-_4.jpg)
A famous appartment block designed by Antoni Gaudí is Casa Milà in Barcelona.
Its nickname is La Pedrera meaning the stone quarry. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984. It is highly unusual because of its curved lines, curved balconies and solid stone appearance. It was constructed for its owner, a man called Pere Milà, between 1906 and 1912.
Just look at those balconies! And look at the curved roof with those towers and chimneys!
Below are images of lamp posts in Barcelona, designed by Antoni Gaudí.
Photos from Gaudí & Barcelona Club
Antoni Gaudí died following an accident in June 1926.
He was laid to rest in the crypt of the basilica La Sagrada Familia.
Return to Famous Spanish People
bottom of page