September 26, 2008 - The first international exhibition that rescues the various parallels between the most extraordinary constructions of our culture: the edification of The Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia and the construction of the European Union, will be inaugurated on October 8th at 16.30h, at the headquarters of the European Parliament (Brussels).

This exhibition is born of the friendship between Mario Mauro, vice president of the European Parliament, and Etsuro Sotoo, a sculptor of the Sagrada Familia, whose thoughts, in their various fields, recover the meaning of the works and ideals, common substrate of the exhibition.

The exhibition will open from October 6 - 10 in the European Parliament, and will consist of a series of panels that through creative graphic proposal, seek to convey the analogy between the Realism of Gaudí and the Hope of Europe, taking over the origins of both.

In the opening event of the exhibition "The Realism of Gaudí and the Hope of Europe", the parliament members will be able to participate actively in the construction of the temple through the symbolic signing of a mosaic, which will form part of a pinnacle of the Expiatori Temple of the Sagrada Familia. That pinnacle, when finished, will be transported to Barcelona to be part of the great work of Gaudí.

The exhibition, originally designed for the European Parliament, has already been requested by different organizations. The next appointment is in Milan in "L’Artigiano in Fiera 2008", and will be open to the public from November 29th to December 8th.

"The Realism of Gaudí and the Hope of Europe" is sponsored by the Association Friends of Gaudi, in collaboration with the Junta Constructora del Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia, the Reial Cátedra Gaudí,he Association for Research and Teaching Universitas, The Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe, and the Cultural Association Desideratum.

The project is developed nd organized by Magrada Projects SL, and is sponsored by the European Parliament.