Wonders of Barcelona Church to be revealed at Cumberland County Museum

Published on January 9, 2012

Published on January 9, 2012

Dave Mathieson  

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Presentation begins Thursday at 7 p.m.

AMHERST – 144 year’s.
That’s how long it will take to complete La Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, Spain. 
Construction began in 1882 and isn’t expected to be complete until 2026.
La Sagrada Familia was designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi.
 “It’s a work of art,” said Springhill’s Howard Spence, who traveled to Barcelona in 2010 for his 75th birthday. “I’ve been in Westminster Abby and cathedrals in Rome but this one caught my eye because it was so modern, but it’s been under construction since the 1800’s. It’s unbelievable.”
The Cumberland County Museum and Archives is hosting a presentation by Spence, who is a former Cumberland Museum board chair.
Spence traveled the Mediterranean in May 2010, spending three days in Barcelona and one day touring Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia.
Gaudi was born in 1852 and died in 1926.
“He spent 45 years of his life on it, and it’s hard to believe how modern it is,” said Spence. “It’s hard to believe it was made in that era.
La Sagrada Familia is something Spence will never forget.
“It’s one of those things where you can take in only so much but I did what I could,” said Spence. “When I go back, and I will go back, I’ll spend some more time at the church.”
Spence’s presentation is Thursday and begins at 7 p.m. at the Cumberland Museum and Archives, which is at 150 Church Street in Amherst. It will last for about half an hour, and then Spence will give a slide show presentation.
La Sagrada Familia is one of seven of Guadi’s works declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
dmathieson@amherstdaily.com

Topics :

Barcelona Church , Cumberland County Museum