Don Justo's Self Built Cathedral
A huge cathedral single-handedly constructed by one eccentric monk
Category Curious Places of Worship, Outsider Architecture
It is, at its simplest, an ex-monk's act of faith. After eight years in a Trappist order--and just prior to taking his vows--Don Justo Gallego Martinez was obliged to leave, considerably weakened by tuberculosis. Without formal permission or permits, Don Justo began laying the foundations of a great cathedral with his own hands on a plot of land bequeathed to him by his parents.
Today the frame of a large building, with a 40-meter-tall dome modeled on St. Peter's in Rome, towers over the town of Mejorada del Campo. Like the cathedrals of old, it will not reach completion during the lifetime of its 81-year-old architect. What will happen to the building after Martinez's death remains an open question. No one has yet stepped up to take over the project.
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- Address Catedral Madre de Jésus, Mejorada del Campo, Spain
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