10th July 2026
The mathematical secrets of Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia
12: the magic number
It is no surprise that the number 12 plays a prominent role in the structure of the church. Gaudí conceived the Sagrada Família as a synthesis of architecture and religious symbolism, and the number 12 features heavily in the Bible: Jacob’s 12 sons, the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 apostles and the crown of 12 stars in the Book of Revelation are just a few examples.
But its significance is not merely symbolic. From a mathematical point of view, 12 is a number particularly well-suited to establishing proportions, as it has many divisors. According to Alsina, the relationships between these divisors account for much of the basilica’s proportional system.
Love that the Safrada Familia, and many of the major web page layout systems, settled on 12 as a damn good number because it’s got so many divisiors.