Ildefonso Falcones
Ildefonso Falcones de Sierra (born 1959) is a Spanish lawyer and writer from Barcelona. He is best known for writing the best-seller Cathedral of the Sea.
Also recorded as Ildefonso Falcones de Sierra
Ildefonso Falcones

Partido Popular de Cataluña · Rajoy visita Santa María del Mar · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Name
- Ildefonso Falcones
- Birth Name
- Ildefonso Falcones de Sierra
- Born
- 1959
- Birthplace
- Barcelona, Spain
- Occupation
- Author and lawyer
- Nationality
- Spain
- Fields
- historical fiction
- Known for
- Cathedral of the Sea
- Languages
- Spanish · Catalan
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Ildefonso Falcones de Sierra (born 1959) is a Spanish lawyer and writer from Barcelona. He is best known for writing the best-seller Cathedral of the Sea.
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Note VALÉORINE
Ildefonso Falcones (born 1959) is a Spanish lawyer and writer. The lawyer was born in Barcelona. Ildefonso Falcones worked in Barcelona.
Works include Cathedral of the Sea. Genres include historical fiction. Languages used include Catalan and Spanish.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q555888 · wikipedia · Ildefonso Falcones
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Ildefonso Falcones • Birth Name — Ildefonso Falcones de Sierra • Born — 1959 • Birthplace — Barcelona, Spain • Occupation — Author and lawyer • Language — Spanish • Genre — Historical fiction
Biography
Biography
Ildefonso Falcones is the son of a lawyer and homemaker. He had a career as a horseback rider at the age of 17, becoming the Junior Champion of Spain in show jumping, as well as excelling in field hockey. His career in sports ended with his father's death that same year. He studied at the College of San Ignacio's Jesuits in Spain. After which, he began his university studies, attempting to earn degrees in economics and law. He eventually decided to drop his studies in economics to balance his studies of law with a job at a bingo in Barcelona. He currently practices law at his own law firm, located in the Eixample district of Barcelona. And although he previously started his work in literature, for the past few years he has had to balance his work with his passion for writing books. It took him 5 years to finish his first novel. He became famous with the historical thriller Cathedral of the Sea, published in 2006, and set in 14th century Barcelona. His second novel, La mano de Fátima (2009), deals with the Morisco revolt and later expulsion of the Moriscos. His third novel was La reina descalza (2013), set in between Seville and Madrid in the 18th century, follows the interwoven lives of two women (a former slave from Cuba and a gypsy from Triana) with the Great Gypsy Round-up, as a backdrop. His fourth novel, Los herederos de la tierra, is a continuation to La catedral del mar. His fifth novel, El pintor de almas (2019), set in the mired by social conflict early 20th-century Barcelona, follows the life of an artist and his uneasy relation with an anarchist. In 2015, Ildefonso Falcones was accused of defrauding the Spanish Treasury of 1,4 million euros between 2009 and 2011 by transferring the copyrights of his works to companies based outside of Spain. In 2016, the case was dismissed when the judge considered that the sale of the copyright for his first novel was in 2004, two years before its editorial success, showing that there was no intent to commit a "fraudulent and malicious manoeuver by said action". However, by February 2018 he was facing those charges again, which could attract a prison sentence up to 9 years. The charges were cancelled in November 2019, described by the judge as "absurd charges".
Views and positions
Views and positions
From an ideological standpoint, he has voiced himself as a supporter of the People's Party (PP). He supported Mariano Rajoy in 2008, the then PP's prime ministerial candidate vis-à-vis the 2008 general election, in a political act at the Santa Maria del Mar church together with other leaders of the People's Party of Catalonia, like Dolors Nadal and Daniel Sirera.
Identity
Identity
Ildefonso Falcones is classed in the genre historical fiction. Recorded with the occupation writer. Recorded as a citizen of Spain.

Ildefonso Falcones
Alberto-g-rovi
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1959
Ildefonso Falcones was born on 2 February 1959.
Books
• La catedral del mar (2006) • La mano de Fátima (2009) • La reina descalza (2013) • Los herederos de la tierra (2016) • El pintor de almas (2019) • Esclava de la libertad (2022)
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q555888: Ildefonso Falcones
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Ildefonso Falcones”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Roig, Clara. Ildefonso Falcones: If 'Cathedral of the Sea' had not been published, I could not have done the same effort again. Catalan News. Agència Catalana de Notícies. 14 February 2013.
- 2.Fiori, Simonetta. Ildefonso Falcones Sierra. La Repubblica. Divisione Stampa Nazionale. 27 January 2007.
- 3.Vila-Sanjuán, Sergio. Ildefonso Falcones novela la expulsión de los moriscos. La Vanguardia. 26 April 2009.
- 4.González Barba, Andrés. Los gitanos de Sevilla protagonizan «La reina descalza», de Ildefonso Falcones. ABC. 6 March 2013.
- 5.Néspolo, Matías. La 'herencia' de Falcones. El Mundo. 8 September 2016.
- 6.Nieto Jurado, Jesús. El pintor de almas. El Cultural. 7 October 2019.
- 7.EFE. Imputan al 'best-seller' Ildefonso Falcones por defraudar 1,4 millones. El Mundo. Unidad Editorial Información General S.L.U. 25 June 2015.
- 8.González, Germán. Archivan la causa contra Ildefonso Falcones por fraude a Hacienda. El Mundo. Unidad Editorial. 9 March 2016.
- 9.El fiscal pide 9 años de cárcel para el escritor Ildefonso Falcones por fraude fiscal, en El País
- 10.Absuelto de fraude a Hacienda Ildefonso Falcones. Diario ABC. 2021-11-22.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q555888: Ildefonso FalconesWikimedia Foundation
Verifiedreference work
Partially resolved
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Identity and origins. His recorded languages were Spanish and Catalan.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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