This summer I had the chance to backpack through Western Europe. I visited a lot of medieval sites from Dublin, Ireland up through Barcelona, Spain. Each site was spectacular in it's own right but the Basilica at Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona really captured the essence, in my mind, of what truly spectacular lighting is. Situated on the northwest coast of Spain in Barcelona, the early afternoon sunlight created a very unique experience within the Church. As I entered through the main doors I was immediately intrigued with how the sun was the main source of light within the space. As the sun flowed through the upper windows in the main Apse, the light was filtered through the stained glass windows creating a very bright, but at times, very contrived light. The refraction from the stained glass caused the light to bounce up and around the space creating very deep and defined shadows throughout the Church. The main space was lit fairly brightly from the sun but the side Apses were in much deeper shadow. This phenomena also reinforced how large this Sacred space really is. The stained glass windows also appear to alter the consistency of the sunlight, at times, breaking it into its individual colors before bouncing it around the room. The large, lit windows caused my eye to rise and admire the upper corners of the structure. Without the windows and only the artificial light down low, I do not think I would have been drawn to look up as easily as I was. I believe that the way the sunlight was treated in this space allowed me to enter this space with a different mindset then entering other, everyday spaces.
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