If you also love culture, with WeBarcelona you can enjoy in full detail this masterpiece of Gaudí as part of a personalised tour.

For the most curious, everything can seem small, so prepare yourself to get to know in first person the story that Gaudí’s masterpiece hides among its details.

In 2005, UNESCO declared the Fachada del Nacimiento (Façade of the birth) also known as the Façade of the nativity, a world heritage site.

This architectural work is not the only one that can be found amongst the favourites of UNESCO, we can also find Parque Güell or la Casa Milá

 

Get to know the history of the Fachada del Nacimiento of the Sagrada Familia

This is the jewel in the crown of all Barcelona. That which this façade shows is principally the most important events in the childhood of Jesus.

This was the only part of the basilica in which Gaudí directly participated. All his was based in trying to invoke natural forms to represent key elements such as the Holy Trinity, the star of nativity and the tree of life amongst others.

In 1926, the year in which Gaudí died, only this tower was finalised. Conscious that he would not live to see his work finished, he opte to focus on the part that could serve as the guide of the rest of the structure.

 

 

The facade of the nativity of the Sagrada Familia

In the Sagrada Familia, everything has a meaning, an objective. We beginning focusing on the three points by which one can enter the church. Each one has a different meaning – in order of left to right, they are the Door of hope, of charity, and finally, of faith. These three doors form the portico of the basilica.

We begin with a small reference to the door of hope. This gives honour to the virtue of hope and to Joseph. Above the door one can see the figure of the baby Jesus and his father.

In the central part of the door of charity we can find the column of Jesus, which represents the base of the nativity. From this small point ascends a ribbon which shows the holy ascent of Jesus.

In the upper part of the same portal we can find a scene that shows the Coronation of Mary the only one that does not belong to the temporal range that gives the core meaning to the façade. In it we see the moment when Jesus crowns his mother as queen of heaven.

 

The meaning of the Sagrada Familia, discover all of its secrets

Right in the centre of the façade you can find the cypress tree above which fly a flock of white doves. This element represents the tree of life, always associated with sacred places. This is the highest point of the central door where one finds the symbol of the Holy Trinity.

With respect to the third door, that of faith, it is focused on this virtue and in Mary. It is here that Antoni Gaudí left clear his total belief in the Divine Providence. In the upper part, we can find the palm of a right hand with an eye open in the centre.

Finally, we´ll talk about the bell towers, another element that is representative of the basilica. Between the two facades we can count a total of 12 towers that make reference to the 12 apostles.

The four towers that we can see from the façade of the nativity are dedicated to Saint Barnabas, Saint Simon, Saint Judas Thaddeus and finally, Saint Matthew. Of these four towers, the only one that Gaudí was able to see finished was that of Barnabas.