Construction of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia may have started 137 years ago, but the emblematic basilica only got its building permit on Friday.

The Spanish seaside city council awarded the license to a committee in charge of finishing construction of the Catholic temple for 4.6 million euros ($5.2 million), Janet Sanz, in charge of urban planning, told reporters.

In a quirk of history, authorities only discovered in 2016 that the building that draws millions of visitors every year had never had planning permission since construction began in 1882.

Some 137 years later, it is finally legal.

AFP