Sagrada Familia: The Nativity Facade & Tree of Life

            High up on the 'Nativity Facade', one of the three massive facades of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, is a spire with a cypress tree symbolizing the tree of life.  At the top of the tree, the letter 'T' (or Tau) stands for God (as the first letter of God's name in the Greek alphabet).  It is red with diagonal bars crossing it forming an X representing Christ's name.  A dove at the top with outspread wings represents the Holy Spirit.  Thus, the three persons of the Trinity (father, son and holy ghost) are represented at the top of the tree of life.

Every part of the design of the Sagrada Familia is replete with Christian symbolism as was designed by the architect, Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926).  Gaudi intended the church to be the "last great sanctuary of Christendom".  Its most striking aspect are these spindle-shaped towers, three of which are seen in this photograph.  There are four towers on the Nativity Facade (eight of a total of eighteen in Gaudi's original design have been built as of 2010) that correspond to four apostles (the other four apostles are represented by towers at the Passion Facade).

Construction of the Sagrada Familia is expected to be completed in 2026, a century after the death of Gaudi.  All of the construction work on this legendary church is, as yet, unlicensed by authorities in Barcelona.  On October 18, 2018, the church was finally granted a building permit for which Church trustees paid $41 million to the city.

Taken in: España / Catalunya / Barcelona / La Sagrada Familia (show map)

Taken on: March 15, 2012

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Camera: Nikon D300, f/5.6, 1/320 sec, 70mm (=105mm), ISO 450 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D300
Lens:	70.0-300.0 mm f/4.0-5.6
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/320)
Focal Length:	70mm (35mm equivalent: 105mm)
ISO:	450
Exposure Bias:	-5 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Manual
Light Source:	Fine Weather
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.6 (Macintosh)
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