Although the Sagrada Familia Temple is known as the great masterpiece of Antonio Gaudí, the truth is that its construction has been directed by a total of 9 different architects.

Initially, the work was entrusted to the architect Francisco de Paula del Villar, a teacher and friend of Gaudí, who abandoned the project due to disagreements with his ideologist and financier, the bookseller Josep María Bocabella. Gaudí himself was present when the first stone of the Temple was laid.

A year later, the work was handed over to Gaudí, who completely reformulated Villar's idea and, aware that it would be a work that would last several generations, tried to define the project as much as possible. During Gaudí's lifetime only the crypt, the apse and, partially, the Nativity façade were completed, of which Gaudí could only see the tower of San Bernabé.

From there, the work has been directed by different architects and disciples of Gaudí, who have taken his research, models and plans as a basis to continue with its construction. However, there are still some differences with respect to Gaudí's original project. For example, Gaudí proposed a polychrome façade full of colour in one of his models, different from the current one.

One of the events that most shocked the city of Barcelona was the death of Gaudi, the architect of the Sagrada Familia. On June 10, 1926, at the age of 73, the acclaimed architect died due to a fatal accident.

Gaudí was run over by a tram 3 days before his death, in the Cortes street of Barcelona, when he was going to the church of San Felipe Neri for confession. Neither the driver nor the passers-by who witnessed the run over ran immediately to his aid, as they mistook him for a beggar. He was only recognized by the chaplain of the Sagrada Familia one day after the accident.

Some 5,000 people gathered on the esplanade of the Sagrada Familia during his funeral, which was, at Gaudí's request, simple and without frills. His coffin was transported in a carriage pulled by two horses, which would take him back to his beloved Temple, followed by a large cortege.

When Gaudí's body entered the Sagrada Familia for the last time, its bells rang in a sad farewell. In honour of the master, the completion of the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia is scheduled for the centenary of Gaudí's death, in the year 2026.

During his life, the architect Antonio Gaudí experimented with various forms and structures that would serve the construction of the Sagrada Familia Temple. Gaudí, who possessed a prodigious sense of geometry and volume, worked on making scale plaster models, which he worked on as ideas came to him.

Today, architects still work with these same bases and methods, but with the technology of 3D printing. Thanks to this new technology, it has been possible to automate and accelerate the process a lot. Although adjustments are always necessary, carried out by modeling professionals.

The Spanish Civil War also left its mark on the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Between 1936 and 1939, a fire broke out that affected the crypt and the provisional schools of the Sagrada Familia, and Antonio Gaudí's workshop was also destroyed.

Due to this fire, the original plans, drawings and photographs of Gaudí's project were lost, as well as part of the scale plaster models made by the architect. These facts made the work of the later architects very difficult and they had to resume the works of the Temple.

Nevertheless, and despite the fire and some controversies about the continuation of its construction, the works of the Sagrada Familia have never stopped. Thanks to the work of researchers and professionals, the works are being continued, according to their directors, respecting Gaudí's original idea.

Within the enclosure of the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia itself, there are the Sagrada Familia Schools. This is a small building constructed by Gaudí in 1909, which served as a school for the children of the workers who worked on the construction of the Temple.

The work, belonging to the last years of Gaudi's career, was commissioned by the Association of Devotees of St. Joseph, chaired by the founder of the Sagrada Familia. The school also served other children from the neighbourhood, especially those from lower social classes.

In 2002, the building, which has been a source of inspiration for acclaimed architects such as Le Corbusier and Calatrava, was moved outside the Temple. Since then it has been the venue for the exhibition The Gaudí Workshop, dedicated to the study of the construction processes of Antonio Gaudí.

The Sagrada Familia is popularly known among the people of Barcelona as “The cathedral of the poor". Its name of "Expiatory Temple" is due precisely to the fact that it is a cathedral financed by exclusively private capital, coming from the donations of devotees and sympathizers.

Because of this form of financing, there were times when, due to lack of funds, the construction of the temple was jeopardized. It is said that Gaudí himself was sometimes involved in the work of raising funds.

To this day, the Sagrada Familia also continues to be financed exclusively through private donations and the money obtained through the price of tickets to the site.

Despite the criticism and debates that have arisen around the continuation of the works of the Sagrada Familia, Antonio Gaudí always wanted the construction of the Temple to be completed. And he was also aware at all times that it would be a work that his eyes would not see finished.

So much so, that Antonio Gaudí established in his will that, on his death, the villa where he lived would be sold. In this way, he wanted the entire amount to be used for the continuation of the work on the Sagrada Familia.

According to the calculations of its architects, the Sagrada Familia will be completed in 2026, and will be the tallest church in the world. It will have a total of 18 towers (at present we can only see 8), which will be completed before then, in the year 2022.

The highest of the towers will be the Tower of Jesus, crowned by a four-armed cross, which will be 172.5 meters high. It will make it the tallest church in the world and is expected to be the tallest building in the city of Barcelona.