114.2. Sagrado Corazón Temple (Upper church), Top of the Tibidabo – Barcelona
The highest point in the city of Barcelona, the summit of Tibidabo mountain, is crowned by the expiatory church of the Sagrat Cor. Its outline is an inseparable part of Barcelona’s cityscape and constitutes a landmark, not just for the city, but for the whole metropolitan area. Nevertheless, the building, which consists of a lower church, or crypt, and an upper church to which entrance is gained by means of a wide stairway, has never found a very fond place in the hearts of the city’s citizens.
Tibidabo forms part of the Collserola mountain range and it marks the city’s confines, separating it from the Vallès district. It was the idea of this natural “wall” that closes off and protects the city that suggested the characteristics for the lower church, with its towers and merlons, executed in a solid Romanesque style, as the base upon which was built the upper church, with its vertical Gothic lines.
The crypt, or lower church, has excellent sculptural work by Eusebi Arnau in which the fundamental shapes of Romanesque art and Baroque decorative details are combined, especially the Solomonic columns in the entrance, and naturalistic details such as stylisations of plant motifs. The monumental portal has representations of Our Lady of Mercy and saints George and James. The original project (as can be discerned from old photographs of the model), was for the upper church to have a flowery decorative repertoire but when construction commenced Sagnier, who was soon to have his son Josep Maria as a collaborator, chose to simplify the shapes.
The land on the summit of the mountain was acquired by a group of citizens and ceded to the founder of the Salesian order, Giovanni Bosco, on the occasion of his visit to Barcelona in 1886. Bosco promoted the construction of a church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus similar to others that existed in other countries, such as the famous Sacré C?ur in Montmartre, in Paris.
The expiatory church of the Sagrat Cor was constructed with donations from all over Spain. The works occupied Sagnier for three decades, until his death in 1931. His son continued with the task and construction was completed in 1961.
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Cataloguing No.
114.2
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Category
Religious architecture
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Date
1915-1931
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Location
Barcelona
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Address
Top of the Tibidabo
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Petitioner
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Source
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