The church of the turtle and the chameleon
In the Middle Ages, architects used great animals like lions and eagles or fantasy animals like griffins and gargoyles to decorate the great Gothic cathedrals. Gaudí's church of the Holy Family, la Sagrada Familia, looks like a Gothic cathedral at first glance, but it is certainly not.
When you look closer, you might get the impression that the great church is inspired by fairy tales or fantasy literature. But if you take your time and look at the details, you will find that Gaudí's main source of inspiration was nature. Everywhere you see plants and animals and they are there for a reason.
On the Nativity Facade, one of the columns is carried by a great big turtle and another is decorated with a chameleon. When asked about this, Gaudí said that the turtle represents the careful speed by which the Church moves through the centuries and the chameleon symbolizes the ability the Church has to adapt to the cultures it meets around the world.
In the interior of the church, the columns all look like trees. One day, when this great building is completed, its nave will be like a forest. On the roofs of the transepts there are little spires all topped with baskets of fruits like strawberries, olives and almonds (see the photo in this post). They are not merely decorative -- nothing here is -- they represent the fruits of the Spirit.
La Sagrada Familia is like no other church I have seen and visiting it freed my mind to think of God in new ways. After all, God too must be like nothing I have seen :)
If you want to read more about la Sagrada Familia, have a look at the Wikipedia article.
Photo by WordRidden.
