Quite near the center of Barcelona we find the extraordinary "Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Família" (Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family). Sagrada Família was the idea of Josep María Bocabella, a bookseller, a man who in 1866 founded the Asociaciën Espiritual de Devotos de San José (Spiritual Association of Devotees of St. Joseph).
In 1872, Bocabella went to Rome to make an offering to the Holy Father, and on his way back he passed through Loreto, where he observed its beautiful church. It was there that he had the idea of making a temple in Barcelona, Sagrada Família, dedicated to the Holy Family, built as a replica of the church he saw in Loreto, Italy.
In 1877 the architect Francisco de Paula del Villar offered to draw the plans of Sagrada Família for free: a church with three naves, with the crypt oriented according to the orthogonal axes of the block. The work started on March 19: th, 1882, on the festival of St. Joseph.
Gaudí officially took over the construction of Sagrda Família on March 18: th, 1883, because of some disagreements between Del Villar and the council. The council decided to pass

management of the construction to Martorell who proposed the young (31 years old) Gaudí as successor to Del Villar's former post. The council approved and the young architect took over management of the construction. He modified

Del Villar's project making more naturalist capitals, and he opened a trench around the crypt to allow light and direct ventilation.

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