10Construction Began in 1882
The Sagrada Família has been part of Barcelona’s skyline for more than 140 years. The cornerstone was laid on March 19, 1882, the feast day of Saint Joseph.
Interestingly, Antoni Gaudí was not the original architect. The first project was designed by Francisco de Paula del Villar in a Neo-Gothic style. Gaudí took over the project in 1883 and gradually transformed it into something vastly more ambitious.
What began as a conventional church project became a monumental architectural vision unlike anything Barcelona had seen before.
