La Sagrada Familia | By Candelas Education

  🎧 Listen (for comprehension): Source 👉 La Sagrada Familia

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La Sagrada Familia is one of the most authentic buildings you might ever see. It is a basilica located in Barcelona, Spain, and the most significant brainchild of the famous Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi. He is also known for the spectacular Park Güell, which combines mosaic-installed architectural elements with nature. Initially, the project, La Sagrada Familia was initiated by Francisco de Paula del Villa in 1882. He was responsible for the first design of the basilica, which was supposed to be a cathedral. The first designs, compared to Gaudi's were not authentic at all. They looked like any other Gothic cathedral of the 1800s. Later on, the project was taken over by Antonio Gaudi. He gave La Sagrada Familia a design like no other. This design was so hard to plan, engineer, and apply that even Gaudi knew he wouldn't live long enough to see his most ambitious work built. This is why some researchers think Gaudi rushed some parts of the building to be completed earlier. There are a lot of unique details about the story, the design, and the construction stage of the cathedral. The name La Sagrada Familia roughly translates into the sacred family, which symbolically stands for Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary, the Four Evangelists, and the 12 Apostles. The 18 tower design of La Sagrada Familia represents these 18 crucial figures in Christianity. It was later declared a basilica by the pope, which was a great honour for the building. As for the design, the building possesses some of the most modernist touches of its own era. There are almost no right-angled edges or straight lines, thus making the building look incredibly detailed and circular. One of the students of Gaudi stated that the structure resembles a colossal sculpture like no other. In the previous decade, the construction of the building was halted because of the riots during the Spanish Civil War and insufficient funding. The absence of computers and technology also made the construction take longer than it was originally planned. To this day, it has been very hard to both construct the building and keep Gaudi's original design. For now, architects say that the building can be finished by 2026. It is obvious that Gaudi dedicated most of his time and energy to the precious La Sagrada Familia. Therefore, a crypt was made for him in the basilica after his accidental death by getting hit by a trolley car on June 10th. 1926. If you ever get to visit Barcelona, don't forget to admire the magnificent La Sagrada Familia, even though it will still be under construction. 

🗪 Discussion (create fun & interesting role-play): 

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✍ Vocabulary Review (find the word in the text that is suitable to each below description by your comment): 

1. based on facts; accurate or reliable
2. a public building in ancient Rome that was round at one end and had two rows of columns supporting the roof, or a large church with a similar design
3. an original idea, plan, or invention
4. very exciting to look at
5. a pattern or picture made using many small pieces of coloured stone or glass, or the activity or method of making these
6. to cause something to begin
7. a very large, usually stone, building for Christian worship. It is the largest and most important church of a diocese
8. (of buildings) built in an old style that uses stone, very high ceilings, and lots of decoration
9. having a strong wish to be successful, powerful, or rich
10. to (cause to) do something very quickly
11. considered to be holy and deserving respect, especially because of a connection with a god
12. a person who tries to persuade people to become Christians, often by travelling around and organizing religious meetings
13. someone who strongly supports a particular belief or political movement
14. extremely important or necessary
15. a religion based on belief in God and the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, and on the Bible
16. to announce something clearly, firmly, publicly, or officially
17. (the title of) the leader of the Roman Catholic Church
18. to have or own something, or to have a particular quality
19. relating to or a member of the modern art movement
20. a period of time of which particular events or stages of development are typical
21. shaped like a circle
22. to be similar to someone or something
23. extremely large
24. the art of forming solid objects that represent a thing, person, idea, etc. out of a material such as wood, clay, metal, or stone, or an object made in this way
25. the art of forming solid objects that represent a thing, person, idea, etc. out of a material such as wood, clay, metal, or stone, or an object made in this way
26. a period of ten years
27. to (cause to) stop doing something or happening
28. an occasion when a large number of people behave in a noisy, violent, and uncontrolled way in public, often as a protest
29. not enough
30. believing that something is very important and giving a lot of time and energy to it
31. of great value because of being rare, expensive, or important
32. a room under the floor of a church where bodies are buried
33. an electric vehicle that transports people, usually in cities, and goes along metal tracks in the road
34. very good, beautiful, or deserving to be admired

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