The cornerstone of the Sagrada Familia was laid on March 19, 1882, kicking off a construction project so ambitious that it is still going to this day.

Perhaps unexpectedly, however, on the day it began, the cathedral that is now regarded as Antoni Gaudí’s Art Nouveau magnus opus was being overseen by another architect entirely, and had a fairly traditional design. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss how Gaudí planned to incorporate the entire heavens and earth into a single structure; reveal which are the world’s longest ever construction projects; and explain why Gaudí should have followed that classic parental advice to always wear clean underwear in case you are in an accident…

 Further Reading:

• ‘Barcelona's Sagrada Família: Gaudí's 'cathedral for the poor'’ (The Guardian, 2015): https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jun/03/barcelona-sagrada-familia-gaudi-history-cities-cathedral-poor-church-religion 
• ‘133 Years Later, Gaudí’s Cathedral Nears Completion’ (National Geographic, 2015): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/151105-gaudi-sagrada-familia-barcelona-final-stage-construction 
• ‘The World's Oldest Construction Project | Sagrada Familia’ (Real Engineering, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkNGdzo_3EA  

#1800s #Architecture #Religion #Spain 

This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart

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