What is the most famous unfinished church designed by Gaudí?

Gaudí’s most famous unfinished church is the Sagrada Família. Officially called the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, it is a monumental Catholic basilica in Barcelona and the defining work of his career.

The project began in 1882 with architect Francisco de Paula del Villar, but Gaudí assumed responsibility the following year and transformed the design. He devoted the final decades of his life to the basilica, developing a complex plan with three great façades, eighteen planned towers, branching columns, and geometric forms inspired by nature. Gaudí died in 1926, when only part of the structure had been built.

“Unfinished” does not mean unused: Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the basilica in 2010, and it functions as a place of worship. Construction was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, which damaged Gaudí’s workshop and models. The surviving evidence, reconstructed plans, modern engineering, and continuing donations have all shaped the long-running project.