Spanish cathedral of salvage built by elderly man

Posted on | By Ruby Hazael
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Andalucia (Malaga), Spain
An 85 year old man has spent fifty years building an incredible cathedral from reclaimed materials. Justo Gallego started building the structure on his own land after he left an order of monks due to illness.
 
The building is loosely based on St Peter's of the Vatican City, with general church, cathedral and castle motifs. With towers reaching 131ft, all kinds of salvaged materials have been used including rejected bricks and tiles from a local factory, oil drums, and even plastic food tubs.
 
He said, 'I do it for faith. That's clear, no?' But as a printed statement on the wall declares, Justo Gallego is "not an architect or a bricklayer" and has "no training related to construction".
 
Gallego has no formal drawings or plans, and is currently trying to acquire the permits and licenses the building needs in order to open to the public. An architect has agreed to help legalise the building.
 
BBC: Madrid man builds cathedral from junk
Wiki: Justo Gallego Martínez

Story Type: News