At last, the century-long saga behind one of the world's most iconic buildings may be coming to an end. Barcelona's historic Sagrada Família basilica, which was designed by the famed architect Antoni Gaudí and began construction in 1882 — and has yet to be completed — has amassed $41 million in debt over that time for not having the appropriate building permits, according to The New York Times.
But thanks to a new deal between Barcelona's city council and the basilica's trustees, that decades-old IOU will finally be paid off. Over the next decade, church officials will reportedly pay off their debt in installments in exchange for a permit that's expected to improve public transportation in the surrounding areas. They're also hoping the deal will provide the groundwork for a plan "to study the urban solutions in order to finish Antoni Gaudí's project," The Guardian reports.
"The Sagrada Família is an icon and the most visited monument in our city," Ada Colau, mayor of Barcelona, tweeted on Thursday, after the deal was struck. "After two years of dialogue we have made an agreement that will guarantee the payment of the license, secure access to the monument and facilitate local life with improvements to public transport and redevelopment of the nearby streets."
The basilica, which reportedly attracts around 4.5 million visitors a year, is renowned for its unique fusion of art nouveau and gothic architecture. After Gaudí passed away, in 1926, other prominent architects continued to work on the project, adding their own flourishes to the original design. After more than 100 years of construction, the project is expected to finally be completed in 2026, which just so happens to be the centennial of Gaudí’s death. See you then in Barcelona!
Related: 7 of Architect Antoni Gaudí’s Most Influential Modernist Designs
