June 25 – Antoni Gaudi

nPostednon June 25, 2014

n

n

n

n

n

n

nWell…thenbroken-tile mosaic lizard has to do with today’s birthday boy, AntoninGaudi. And Barcelona is Gaudi crazy. And tourists like me who come tonBarcelona are especially Gaudi crazy. 

n

n

n

n

n

n

nGaudinwas very influenced by nature and by his religious beliefs (he wasnCatholic). He was interested in every detail of his designs, and his buildings and gardens included many different sorts of “crafts” such as ceramics,nwrought-ironwork, stained glass, and carpentry. One of the new craftsnhe introduced was trencadis, which is a kind of mosaic madenfrom broken tile shards. n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n
nAndnwe should all have access to one of these covered walkways?

n

n

n

n

n
nHerenare some interesting facts about Gaudi and his work:

n

n

n
• nGaudin rarely drew up elaborate plans for his buildings and othern structures. Instead, he created 3-dimensional models, and he moldedn details as he thought of them.

  n

n

n

n

n
• nGaudin studied a lot of other subjects along with architecture, although hen only earned average grades and sometimes failed courses. When he wasn given his diploma, the director of the Barcelona Architecture Schooln said, “We have given this academic title either to a fool or an genius. Time will show.”

  n

n

n

n

n
• nGaudin tried to integrate his buildings and his landscaping into then natural landscape already present. He also chose native materials orn materials that would help his creations to fit the natural setting.

  n

n

n

n
• nGaudin devoted the last decade of his life to his magnum opus, a churchn called Lan Sagrada Familian (the Sacred Family). It is a huge structure, with a 5-aisled nave, an transept with three aisles, and an apse with seven chapels. Then plans include 18 towers. 

  n

n

n

n

n

n

The interior of the church was designed to resemble a forest.

n

nOnly a small portion of La Sagrada Familia was completed by the time ofn Gaudi’s death in 1926 (tragically, he was struck by a tram andn received poor medical care because people thought he was “just an beggar”). However, work has continued under several architects devoted to carrying out Gaudi’s plans, and the church is expected to be completed in 2026…or so!

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

nStatehood Day in Slovenia 

n

n

n

n

n

n
nIndependencenDay in Mozambique 

n

n
n
n
n
n
n

nAnniversarynof the capture of a “new” species

n

n

n

n
n
n
n
n
nCroatia’snStatehood Day

n

n

n

n

n

n

n
• nJunen holidays

  n

n

• nJunen birthdays

  n

n

• nHistoricaln anniversaries in June

  n

n

n

n

n
• nJulyn holidays

  n

n

• nJulyn birthdays

  n

n

• nHistoricaln anniversaries in July

  n

n

n