Sagrada Família · Barcelona → Rancagua, Chile
Gaudí and Chile: the chapel that sailed to Rancagua
In 1922 a Chilean friar asked Gaudí for some plans, offering prayers in return. Gaudí, who no longer took commissions, gave him a chapel designed for the Sagrada Família. Today it is the only Gaudí project meant to be built outside Spain, and its story begins in Barcelona.
“It would be proof of the spiritual brotherhood between Spain and America.”Letter written on Gaudí’s behalf · 12 October 1922
A century between Barcelona and Rancagua
From a meeting at the Sagrada Família to a project Chile is still determined to build.
1909
Franciscan friar and painter Angélico Aranda arrives in Barcelona from Rome. He meets Gaudí at the Sagrada Família, then just a few unfinished towers, and writes that the church “will be one of the wonders of modern architecture”.
1915
Gaudí designs a shrine to Our Lady of the Angels for the Sagrada Família’s cloister, inspired by the work of sculptor Lluís Bonifàs in Girona Cathedral.
15 Aug 1922
Aranda asks Gaudí for the plans of a small chapel for Rancagua: “an original work, truly original”. He promises to pay him in prayers.
17 Sep 1922
Gaudí, aged 70 and devoted to the basilica, had decided to decline. Rereading the letter, he finds pencil notes on the back: the measurements match his shrine.
12 Oct 1922
Joan Martí Matllèu, secretary of the Construction Board, replies on his behalf: Gaudí gives Rancagua the design of the chapel.
1936
Gaudí’s workshop at the Sagrada Família burns, along with models, plans and the painting Aranda had sent him as thanks.
1990s
Chilean architect Christian Matzner and professor Joan Bassegoda bring the story back to light. In 1996 the Corporación Gaudí de Triana is founded in Rancagua.
2014
The project is presented in Rancagua’s Parque Cataluña: a 30-metre chapel, a cultural centre and two plazas.
The 1922 letters
Three sheets tell the whole story: a friar’s request and the reply from Gaudí’s workshop.
Aranda introduces himself as “an admirer of yours” and asks for plans “of the kind only he knows how to make”.
“I am seventy years old and, giving my whole life to it, I still will not do all that the Sagrada Família needs.”
Gaudí asks about the site, the winds and earthquakes, and encloses a sketch of where the shrine stands in the basilica.
A back door to the Virgin
At the Sagrada Família, the chapel will stand at the centre of the cloister’s north wing, behind the apse on the Carrer de Provença side, just behind the Tower of the Virgin Mary. Gaudí wanted to give Mary “a place of honour” in the basilica.
Inside, a dome shows the Trinity receiving Mary, the nine choirs of angels, and twelve child angels carrying fruit instead of flowers.
If the great façades feel daunting, it is always easier to enter through the Mother, by the back door.Lluís Bonet i Garí, Gaudí’s collaborator, as told by José Manuel Almuzara
10 × 10 m floor plan · 30 m height · 1922 year of the gift
Gaudí and the Americas
A private tour of about two hours through the Sagrada Família with an official guide of Catalonia, following the Rancagua story.
Essential · Individuals and families
A guided tour of the Sagrada Família and the story of the Rancagua chapel, with the 1922 letters.
Premium · Cultural groups and VIPs
The Essential tour plus a meeting with José Manuel Almuzara, architect, Gaudí expert and ambassador of the Rancagua project.
Groups & MICE · Incentives and associations
Tour and private talk on Gaudí and the Americas, with an optional cocktail.
- Gaudí in 1922, devoted solely to the basilica.
- The façades and interior of the Sagrada Família.
- The cloister: where Rancagua’s “twin” chapel will stand.
- The letter of 12 October and the Chilean project today.
What people ask us most
Is there any Gaudí building outside Spain?
None has been built. The Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels in Rancagua, Chile, will be the first once it is built. It comes from a Sagrada Família shrine that Gaudí gave away in 1922.
Where would this chapel stand in the Sagrada Família?
At the centre of the cloister’s north wing, behind the apse on the Carrer de Provença side, just behind the Tower of the Virgin Mary.
How long is the tour?
About two hours, private, with an official guide of Catalonia.
Which languages?
Spanish, Catalan, English, French and Italian. Ask us about other languages.
Can groups or companies book?
Yes. The Groups & MICE format includes a private talk on Gaudí and the Americas, with an optional cocktail.
Tell us your date, language and group size
We’ll reply with a tailored proposal.
Email: manda@barcelonaartoftravel.com
Phone: +34 695 211 963