On December 8, the star recently placed as the crown of the tower of the Virgin Mary of the Sagrada Familia temple in Barcelona, 138 meters high, will be illuminated. It is a piece of glass and stainless steel that measures 7.50 meters side and weighs 5.5 tons. It will have lighting following Gaudí’s idea that this and the other towers project light rays on the city as a symbol of divine light, according to transcripts by his collaborators.
Although it is made with materials that did not exist in Gaudí’s time, the star reproduces the 12-pointed shape that the architect thought for this piece, which can be seen in the engraving published in 1906 where the whole of the temple is published for the first time. This drawing allows us to appreciate the star of which 9 points are observed, since the other 3 that complete it are hidden from the point of view.
It is remarkable the three-dimensionality of this element that is formed around a regular dodecahedron where each point of the star is a pyramid with a pentagonal base in coincidence with the shape of the faces of the central figure.
Images of the placement of the star of the tower of the Virgin Mary in the sagrada Familia Temple. Photos: www.sagradafamilia.org
