Towers of the Evangelists on Sagrada Família – what do they look like and what do they symbolize?

Sagrada Família, jewel modernist architecture from the pen of a genius Antoni Gaudí is again a little closer to completion. Although this should not happen until 2026, it can be seen that the construction is slowly approaching its successful end. 

Completion of the Tower of the Evangelist Matthew
Completion of the tower of the Evangelist Matthew with a statue of the torso and head of a man

Namely, the last week of September of 2023 the construction of all 4 evangelist towers was completed, which together form the so-called tetramorph. This is originally a Babylonian symbol of the 4 signs of the zodiac, which together represent the basic elements of nature: earth, fire, water and air. In Christianity, it is then used precisely as the symbolism of Christ's evangelists, i.e. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (more about the evangelists and their symbols). 

In the case of the Sagrada, each part of the tetramorph is represented by a massive sculpture by a sculptor by name Xavier Medina-Campeny perched atop each of the 4 evangelist towers: 

  • Luke's tower: the winged head of a bull as the sign of the bull and the element of earth
  • Mark's tower: a winged lion's head as the sign of the lion and the element of fire
  • Matouš tower: the winged torso of a man as the sign of Aquarius and the element of air
  • Jan tower: an eagle with outstretched wings as the sign of Scorpio and the element of water
Towers Sagrada Família

All towers Sagrada Família

  1. Tower of Jesus Christ (172 m)
  2. Tower of the Virgin Mary (138 m)
  3. Tower of the Evangelists (135 m)
  4. Tower of the Apostles (100 m)

The towers of the Evangelists rise to a height of 135 meters and are the third highest towers in the Sagrada after the tower of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. 

An interesting fact is that the upper part of the towers, including the statues, was created outside the building itself, and everything was placed on the tops by workers with the help of cranes. 

In the towers of Luke and Mark, which face the mountains, se finds elevators, so there is not much space. On the other side, the Jan and Matouš towers facing the sea they don't have elevators (there is only an evacuation staircase), so there is much more space in them. 

Solemn mass for the completion of the evangelists' towers

If you will 12. November 2023 move in Barcelona, ​​you can join the solemn mass to complete the towers of the 4 Evangelists in Sagrada Família. On that day, the towers will also be lit for the first time, and then throughout November, a whole host of cultural and spiritual events will take place in the temple to celebrate this important milestone. 

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