Barcelona's emblematic "Sagrada Familia" church finally has a completion date - 2026 or 2028, more than 140 years after it was started, reported The Guardian. Joan Rigol, president of the committee charged with finishing the building by Antoni Gaudi, said it should be finished in time for the centenary for the architect's death - or, if not, two years later. Five huge towers are being added to the eccentric building, which is among Spain's most-visited tourist attractions. Originally paid for by subscription, the church was always set to take a long time to build. "My client is in no hurry," Gaudi once said, referring to God. The building was at one stage popularly known as "the cathedral of the poor" and Gaudi himself was known to go begging for contributions - which currently amount to around 500 thousand euro a year. With a roof finally in place, Pope Benedict was able to consecrate it as a basilica last year. But a setback came when a man set fire to the basilica's sacristy in April, with repair work still under way. "The damage is worse than we had thought," said the building's chief architect, Jordi Bonet. Authorities are now considering installing metal detectors at the entrance. "Our new objective is to complete the six central towers, of which five have already been started," said Rigol. The sixth tower will measure 170 meters and contain a lift to carry tourists to the top. "Sagrada Familia", is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926). Although incomplete, the church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in November 2010 was consecrated and proclaimed a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI. The construction of "Sagrada Familia" had already commenced in 1882, when Gaudi subsequently took over the project in 1883 he transformed it with his architectural and engineering style-combining Gothic and curvilinear, modernism forms with ambitious structural columns and arches, and including a rich variety of Christian symbols in the design. Gaudi devoted his last years to the project and at the time of his death, less than a quarter of the project was complete. Gaudi died in 1926 after being run over by the city's No 30 tram. He had been living on the "Sagrada Familia" building site and looked so impoverished that it took several hours for doctors to realize who he was. The tram driver thought he had hit a drunken tramp.

After 20 years of thorough stabilization efforts the scaffolding has been removed from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, meaning that the throngs of tourists that flock to the bell tower every day can now appreciate the column in all its glory. The €27m project has lessened the tilt of the 14th century tower, which prior to reconstruction efforts was leaning an extra millimeter each year. Now 50cm straighter than it was, the famous column now sports a 3.99m lean, corrected from the 4.5m tilt it had several years previously. The tourist attraction and architectural masterpiece now stands at 56m tall at its highest point Over the last two decades, restoration experts have been hard at work painstakingly scrubbing the tower free of the graffiti and dirt that has accumulated over the past centuries and restoring numerous blocks of marble that have fallen from its crown. Gisella Capponi, an architect at the conservation and restoration institute of Italy's culture ministry explains: "Despite the monument's surface area (7,000 sq m), we worked across it centimeter by centimeter." Interest in engineering work to prevent the tower from toppling began in 1964 when the Italian government requested aid in reducing the tilt, however it was considered that a certain angle should be retained to preserve the characteristic feature of this classic monument. As a result, 800tonnes of lead counterweights were applied to the raised base in an effort to counteract the softer foundations on the column's lower side. After the Leaning Tower was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, serious stabilization plans were put in place and the area was closed to the public. The heavy bells were removed from the tower, cables roped around the third level and anchored to the ground, and 38 cub m of soil removed from the base of the raised edge to 'correct' the tilt to its 1838 position. Originally constructed over several centuries from 1173 to 1372, recent stabilization efforts are thought to have secured the lifetime of the bell tower by another 300 years.

On November 17 in Nairobi, Kenya, at a meeting of Committee for Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding by UNESCO, a list of 47-cultural traditions of peoples around the world was approved. The art of creation Armenian Khachkars (cross-stones) was also included in the list, as the centuries-old tradition of the Armenian people, transmitted from generation to generation. As reported in the official site of UNESCO, among more than 50,000 Khachkars in Armenia, each has its own pattern, and no two are alike. The source also notes the height of the cross-stones up to 1.5 m, but most likely the authors have forgotten about such magnificent works of art as cross-stones in monastery complex Sanahin (complex included in the list of UNESCO's historical heritage by in the year 2000) or Goshavank, that astonish not only by their bigger size but also by perfect craftsmanship. Also note that when information like this appears in such well-known news portals as REGNUM.RU, (http://www.regnum.ru/news/fd-abroad/armenia/1347782.html) the news must be accompanied by photographs, that really would help the reader better understand the centuries-old fine art of khachkar creation. Also, we'd like to mention a sad fact of recent vandalism of this "cultural heritage". Since 1987-2005 in the territory of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, thousands of beautiful cross-stones of the monastery complex Nor Jugha have been completely destroyed, and the facts of this heinous vandalism, for many years was "pestering" by Armenian government to UNESCO and other concerned international organizations. More than 500-hundred Armenian cemetery with khachkars and 218 Armenian churches were destroyed in Nakhichevan. The reason for the complete destruction of the cross-stones and churches by Azerbaijani side is certainly understandable; it's a destruction of all identification evidences for centuries-old Armenian stay on this land. But we want to live in the world where everything that relates to the history and culture will be really appreciated, to live in the world where neighbor nations will respect each other, and will recognize real history and existing reality. Watch the video of the destruction of khachkars in Nor Jugha.