La Sagrada Familia: towers

The towers of the Sagrada Familia, which were to house tubular bells, are square at their bases, but above the portals they become cylinders pierced by spirals of columns and narrow, round-headed arches. For acoustic reasons the perforation was continued as the stone columns converged in a series of tall, slender parabolic arches, tied together by thin plates in spirals that produce a ladder-like effect. Above the arches are hexagonal pinnacles; above them are Cubist faceted finials covered with polychromatic Venetian glass mosaics, each surmounted by a three-dimensional haloed cross. The towers and the church show Gaud�’s structural aesthetic at work in the idiom of the Gothic cathedral, eliminating the need for flying buttresses.