A man has spent the last half a century single-handedly building a Cathedral in a small town called Mejorada del Campo on the outskirts of Madrid.
Self-taught Don Justo, 93, from Spain, appeared on tv to show the world his ingenious build.
The dome, which stands at 40 metres high, took a whopping thirty years to build, but what makes his feat of engineering even more phenomenal is that he made it with builders' leftovers and household scrap and without so much as a plan.
'Everyone says it, I haven’t studied anything,' said Don Justo, 'I only know do do do, work work work. I solved everything. That’s how life is.'
While the epic build is made up of a labyrinth complex of cloisters, corridors and rooms on a colossal scale, Don Justo insists the idea was all in his head and he never put pen to paper.
'No plans, I don’t waste time,' he replied when TV architect George asked if he drew out his plans. 'It’s in my head. It’s all about measures, proportions and harmony.'
‘It’s absolutely amazing,’ enthused George as he approached the impressive set of steps. 'This has got to be one of most extraordinary self-builds I’ve ever laid eyes on.
Incredibly, the cathedral has never had a budget as the local legend has kept the project going with his small inheritance, donations and his own extraordinary perseverance.
Over the years, he has used recycled materials to help build the project including bits of marble, concrete and pieces of glass. People have even donated artwork, while local builders have offered bricks.
‘I don’t want praising, that is for the bullfighters and the football players,' said a rather modest Don Justo, 'For me a good Christian must be humble.’
Don Justo was 27 when he found his calling and chose to dedicate the rest of his life to God.
It was ten years later that he decided that rather than building a small chapel at end of his garden, he would build the epic cathedral.
He originally trained as a novice monk but after surviving tuberculosis, he set about building the ultimate symbol of his devotion on family farm land.
And as the show came to an end, George still couldn't believe the one-man build he had just witnessed.
'Over the years I’ve been so lucky to meet incredible people who have taken on ambitious building projects but this is out of this world,' he told viewers.
Music: "Unwritten Return" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Source: Channel 4 , Daily Mail
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