Sunday, January 20, 2008

Sagrada Familia under threat?

Via the Telegraph:
The construction of a high-speed train tunnel that could threaten the foundations of Barcelona’s most popular tourist site is set to begin within months.
The train line will pass within yards of the Sagrada Familia
Spain’s government is to go ahead with controversial plans to build an underground train line that will pass within yards of the church of the Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi’s surreal and still unfinished opus.
The move will come as a blow to architects working to complete the world-famous basilica that Barcelona’s most famous son Gaudi began 125-years ago.
Jordi Bonet I Armengol, who has worked on Gaudi’s daring cathedral for 40 years, has said the planned excavations “could prove fatal” and cause “irreversible damage” the landmark, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Giant tunnelling machines will bore a 39ft wide tunnel through the sandy, waterlogged earth passing within yards of the cathedral’s foundations causing a “risk of subsidence or flooding” according to Mr Bonet.
It's not to everyone's taste, but I'm a huge fan of the Sagrada Familia. Check out the front portal.

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