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I. Black Sea and The Balkans Economic and Political Studies Symposium
1. Introduction
The grand scale work for the expiatory church of La Sagrada Familia begun on 19 March 1882, from a project by
architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. As presented in the official guide of this sacred institution, at the end of
1883 Gaudí was commissioned to carry on the works, a task which he did not abandon until his death in 1926.
Since then different architects have continued the work after his original idea. It is visited by millions of people
every year and many more study its architectural and religious content.
Sagrada is four parts structured, organically integrated and full communicating in symbolism as in architectural
structure. The Nativity façade celebrates the birth of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God made man. It is also referred
to as the façade of Life, of Joy, or of Christmas. It is inspired by the gospels about the childhood of Jesus. The Pas-
sion façade, so called because it represents the pain, the sacrifice and the death of Christ as staged along the twelve
stations of the cross expressed in highly dramatic and emotionally intense sculpture groups, was left in purpose
unfinished by Gaudí. The architect, who only left the decorative part annotated, foresaw that future generations
would make interventions on it according to the aesthetic tastes of the era. The apse is consecrated to Our Lady, for
whom Gaudí felt particular devotion. The life itself is depicted by the pediments of the apse, stylised and elongated,
end in pinnacles with the initials of Our Lady, St Joseph and Christ, the last accompanied by the alpha and the
omega, which recall the beginning and the end of human existence. On the upper part different natural elements
are depicted, such as the palm frond and even ears of wheat or wild grass that recall the ones that grew on the land
where the church was built. The Glory, the exaltation of its strong life and joyous spirit of men is the main façade,
the entrance to the church when finished. As it is so important, Gaudí included in the project the construction of a
great exterior flight of steps that provided access to the church with a solemnity befitting the place. The Glory façade
was given that name because it represents the situation of man within the general order of creation: his origins, his
problems, the roads he must take and his purpose. Like the other façades, it will have three entrances (a main door
dedicated to charity and two side doors dedicated to hope and faith) and a porch with seven columns that will sym-
bolise the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and present the virtues opposed to the sins
(http://www.sagradafamilia.cat/).
Abstract
Following European Union enlargement, member states among which is Romania, has to deal with the large and even growing
disparities among the EU-27 in terms of their overall development, institutions, cultural, fiscal and financial aspects etc. All these
in order to support the long-term growth potential of the EU, for its competitive position in the world and its resilience to shocks.
The author considers that in order achieve synchronization and durability, Romania has to adapt to European model its various
behaviors. Also, learning and adopting this model represent a proper way to form European behavior. As such, knowledge becomes
a factor that supports synchronization and sustainability through adequate European Community space behavior. The paper here
tries to briefly answer the following questions: What European behavior means: history, overview, principles and common values.
Which and what is the European model? The knowledge and learning about the community model might be factors for synchronic-
ity and integration? These answers will support the statement that Knowledge leads to a European behavior as pillar for the Euro-
pean integration process.
Keywords:
Integration, Synchronicity, Durability, Behavior, European Model
PhD. Lect. Beatrice LEUSTEAN
Department of Economics, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Bucuresti, Romania,
[email protected]Knowledge For Synchronization and Durability