- This morning a collaboration agreement was signed between the Endesa Foundation and the Sagrada Familia Foundation at the Episcopal Palace of Barcelona.
- The Tower of the Virgin Mary, which is scheduled to open on 8 December, will be the second tallest in the Basilica and will be crowned by a luminous 12-point star.
- Right from the beginning, the Endesa Foundation has collaborated in architectural lighting projects with the aim of preserving, maintaining and highlighting the importance of Spain's artistic heritage.
This morning the Endesa Foundation signed a collaboration agreement with the Sagrada Familia Foundation to participate in the exterior artistic lighting project for the Tower of the Virgin Mary in the Basilica. The ceremony took place at the Episcopal Palace of Barcelona and was attended by his Excellency and Most Reverend Cardinal Juan José Omella (also President of the Construction Board for the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia); the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Sagrada Familia, Esteve Camps Sala; the Chairman of Endesa and the Endesa Foundation, Juan Sánchez-Calero Guilarte and the General Manager of the Endesa Foundation, Javier Blanco Fernández.
The Endesa Foundation's collaboration focusses on the lighting of the Tower of the Virgin Mary in the Basilica which, in addition to having an artistic objective, will meet the criteria for sustainability and energy efficiency, as is the case with all the lighting projects in which the Endesa Foundation participates. This is not the Foundation's first contribution to the construction process of a building as symbolic and iconic as the Sagrada Familia. In 2007, to coincide with the 125th anniversary of the laying of the first stone for the Temple, it collaborated in the night-time lighting of the Passion façade.
"It is an honour for the Endesa Foundation to participate in this historic moment, which is of significant importance. The Tower of the Virgin Mary together with the star will make a significant contribution to the skyline of the city of Barcelona, highlighting the unique architectural features of this work. By lighting this tower, one of the most iconic of the central towers that will crown the Sagrada Familia, the Endesa Foundation aims both to make the nobility of the monument visible, to bring visitors closer to its symbology and to contribute to increasing its projection and recognition even more both nationally and internationally", commented Juan Sánchez-Calero, Chairman of Endesa and its Foundation.
We will have to wait until 8 December 8 to see the result because the project is currently in the final phase of construction. At 138 metres high, the Tower of the Virgin Mary will be the second highest in the architectural complex. The upper part will consist of a crown with twelve wrought iron stars, followed by an 18-meter shaft covered with broken tile mosaics, and crowned with a twelve-pointed textured glass star illuminated from within. The star is the symbol of the Virgin Mary as the mother of Jesus; and a guide to the faithful. The project for the exterior lighting emphasises and gives greater meaning to the story behind the symbology.
Right from its beginnings in 1998, the Endesa Foundation has contributed to the illumination of major architectural works in Spain as a result of the conviction that providing light is a unique way of enhancing and highlighting the importance of our heritage. They have provided illumination for 700 works, distributed throughout Spanish territory, with iconic monuments including the cathedrals of Palma de Mallorca and Burgos, the chapter house of Toledo cathedral and the Romanesque Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada, in La Rioja.
The lighting projects not only comply with the common sustainability and energy efficiency criteria shared with Endesa and the Enel group, they also capture and multiply the beauty of the monument by providing a new artistic view of our common past by projecting it into the future.
About the Endesa Foundation
The main objective of the Endesa Foundation, chaired by Juan Sánchez-Calero, is to contribute to social development through projects based on education, employment training, the environment and culture.
The Foundation's educational projects are aimed at fostering innovation and environmental education at all levels and promoting academic excellence in the university field.
Employment training projects focus on promoting the talent of people at risk of social exclusion, young people and professionals over 50 years of age.
It also supports the conservation and promotion of biodiversity, cooperating in the fight against climate change, contributing to the maintenance of emblematic species and raising awareness about environmental sustainability.
As for its cultural projects, we must highlight the ones regarding the lighting of artistic monuments and the conservation and dissemination of the historical industrial heritage of the Spanish electricity sector.
The Endesa Foundation also develops and finances programmes and actions aimed at providing humanitarian aid in extraordinary situations of health crises, natural disasters or other similar situations.
#iluminamostalento
More information: http://www.fundacionendesa.org/