Barcelona's favorite son left his mark in a number of places around the city, but this magnificent soaring landmark is his masterpiece. With it, Gaudí asks God to forgive the sins of and have mercy on the people of the region. Whether it worked, only Gaudí knows. He died in 1926, before it was completed. But the work continues with a non-profit organization taking up his burden and filling in the shell that was left when Gaudi, himself, left the Earth. The actual history of the cathedral precedes Gaudi's interest. The concept of a new cathedral in Barcelona arose in the 1850's. By 1866, the Associació Espiritual de Devots de Sant Josep was founded to make the dream a reality. A few years later, the land was bought and work began under the direction of the cathedral's first architect, Francesc del Villar. He didn't stay on long. Del Villar had trouble with local city officials and resigned his post, letting Gaudí take over. He had a bigger, better plan for the cathedral and convinced the organizers of the project to let him make substantial changes to the original design. The cathedral is terribly complicated, filled with more symbolism than can be documented here. The outside is divided into a number of façades, each representing a portion of the life of Jesus Christ. The outside, as a whole, is meant to represent the Catholic Church and is festooned with statues of the Apostles, the saints, and the Virgin Mary. Each of the 12 bell towers represents an apostle. Jesus will be represented by a 170-meter dome topped with a glittering cross, illuminated during the day by sunlight reflecting off the ever-Gaudíesque mosaics, and at night by spotlights. Inside represents Jerusalem, and features some unique archwork. Gaudí took the common structural element of the arch, necessary in all such cathedrals, and removed extraneous materials, leaving only the load-bearing arc. The effect is deliberate: A forest of stone trees rises to spread their branches and protect the faithful inside. Gaudí stopped work on his new vision in 1926 when he was killed by a streetcar. By then, political turmoil was in the wind, and the face of Spain was changing. The Spanish Civil War started, and by 1936 Gaudí's workshop was in flames. Rioters destroyed the models he used to build what was there so far. The project was stalled. It was next up to Francesc Quintana to get the cathedral moving again. He rebuilt the burned-out crypt and reorganized construction. With Puig Boada and Lluís Bonet Garí at his side, the three moved full steam ahead in the 1950's. By the mid-1970's they managed to complete the Passion façade and its belltowers. This was, perhaps, the easiest of the tasks. Since it portrays the suffering and death of Jesus, it contains the least amount of ornamentation in order to convey a sense of grief.