Justo Gallego's Cathedral may be saved!

Brick by brick, Justo Gallego has been constructing a full-scale cathedral since 1961 in the small city of Mejorada del Campo, located just outside of Madrid, Spain. Building without permits, plans, or permissions, he trusted that his labors would ultimately be rewarded and the cathedral would be finished and used for its intended purpose, despite literally decades of threats from municipal and ecclesiastic authorities that it would be demolished immediately following his death. In February 2018, however, all of the political parties of Mejorada del Campo unanimously approved a resolution to designate the cathedral as a Bien de Interés Cultural - a cultural heritage site – and to begin the process of “legalizing” it and bringing it up to code.

SPACES’s Director Jo Farb Hernández has been working with Don Justo since 2008, and a chapter about his work appears in her book Singular Spaces: From the Eccentric to the Extraordinary in Spanish Art Environments. For further information about the Cathedral and images of the work in process, see http://spacesarchives.org/explore/collection/environment/justo-gallego-martinezs-cathedral/