Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia gets building permit 130 years too late
LONDON: The iconic Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona has agreed to pay €36m (£31m) to authorities after going without a building permit for more than 130 years. Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi’s famous building has been under construction for 136 years – but with no official oversight or permit from either the local council or regional government. The cathedral is also not listed in the property registry and since 1995 has only been marked as an empty plot belonging to the diocese of Barcelona, according to Spanish newspaper El Pais. In 2015, the construction board and Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau began negotiating to regulate the building and licence payments. Over the next decade, the basilica’s money will fund improvements to public transport and access to the monument, as well as assisting the local neighbourhood. “Today, the Sagrada Familia and signed an agreement to begin the procedures to obtain the works licence of the Antoni Gaudi project,” the basilica’s Twitter account posted. El Pais report that the lack of oversight has seen some building anomalies, including where eight columns were found to have been built up to 50cm across the pavement in 2007. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is due to be completed in 2026, a hundred years after the death of its architect. It attracts 4.5 million annual visitors – an average of 12,000 people a day. (Agencies)
Two-headed copperhead snake donated to Kentucky center
NEW YORK: Kentucky wildlife officials said a two-headed copperhead snake will be introduced to the public at a state wildlife center. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources said the snake was born in the wild earlier in October and discovered by a Leslie County couple in their yard. The couple donated the live baby snake to the Salato Wildlife Education Center in Frankfort, where it will go on display to the public for the first time. “I may encounter a two-headed snake in the wild every two or three years but a two-headed copperhead is a first for me,” Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources State Herpetologist John MacGregor said in a news release. “It is a really interesting animal to have on display and a unique opportunity for the public.” The snake will be on display until the center closes for the season on November 21. (Agencies)
Rare 5 kg Moon rock auctioned for over USD 600k
Boston: An extremely rare lunar meteorite – comprised of six fragments that fit together like a puzzle – has been sold for USD 612,500, according to US-based RR Auction. The meteorite is classified as NWA 11789, lunar feldspathic breccia, unofficially known as ‘Buagaba’ or ‘The Moon Puzzle.’ Discovered last year, it is comprised of six fragments that fit together, puzzle-like, to form a mass weighing very nearly 5.5 kg. With partial fusion crust visible on one side, it is a brand new classification and the largest known, complete lunar puzzle. According to RR Auction, it is one of the most important meteorites available for acquisition anywhere in the world today and, perhaps, the most significant example of our nearest celestial neighbour ever offered for sale in the history of meteorite science. (PTI)