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20251031-FYL-libro

A book by the University of Navarra recovers the artistic projects that never came to fruition in the region of Navarre

Directed by Ricardo Fernández Gracia, director of the Chair of Navarrese Heritage and Art, it has been edited by the Publishing Services of the academic center, with the sponsorship the Fuentes Dutor and Gondra Barandiarán foundations.

31 | 10 | 2025

The University has published the monograph "Las artes soñadas en Navarra. A selection of unrealized projects", a work directed by Professor Ricardo Fernández Gracia, director of the Chair of Heritage and Navarrese Art of the academic center, which brings together the work of nearly fifty specialists to rescue from oblivion the architectural and artistic dreams that never came to fruition. Published by the Publishing Services of the University of Navarra, with the sponsorship the Fuentes Dutor and Gondra Barandiarán foundations, the book offers a journey through more than four centuries of frustrated artistic imagination, from the 12th to the 20th century.

The book was presented on October 29th at the Pamplona Chamber of Commerce. Speakers included Rosalía Baena, Vice President of Students at the University of Navarra; Agustín Guibert, president of the Fuentes Dutor Foundation; Rodrigo Oraá, trustee of the Gondra Barandiarán Foundation; and Ricardo Fernández Gracia, director and publisher of the publication.

The monograph analyzes 134 unpublished projects in fields as diverse as urban planning, religious and civil architecture, engineering, commemorative monuments, graphic arts and heritage interventions. Among them are designs for the façade of Pamplona Cathedral, alternative plans for the chapel of San Fermín or urban extensions that only existed on paper. In the words of its coordinator, "this is not a corpus as such, but a selection of a set of plans that never became a reality".

The Issue has the partnership of 41 experts, including university professors, archivists, architects and researchers, who have been in position of the comments and analysis of the different pieces. In this regard, Ricardo Fernández Gracia highlights the breadth of the project and the diversity of its approaches: "Each of them has worked on plans, traces, elevations or ideal reconstructions that allow us to imagine how the buildings, altarpieces or sculptures that were never erected would have been.

Likewise, Professor Fernández Gracia, director and publisher of the monograph, sees this publication as a natural continuation of his previous research on drawing in Navarre. "A couple of years ago we did a study on drawing between 1500 and 1800; on this occasion, the purpose is different, also related to drawings and plans, but with the common denominator of not having been carried out". Thus, the book not only documents these projects, but also investigates the causes of their non-realization, among others, "not being to the taste of the promoter, the death of the artist, wars or the economic ruins of those who promoted them". For Fernandez Gracia, these failed projects are a fundamental part of cultural history: "When these and other parts of our heritage are studied, the topic of study that concerns us here will be studied completely and globally".

The 509-page book is completed with an extensive illustrated Catalog and a careful edition. Professor Fernández Gracia wanted to express his gratitude to the institutions and people who have made it possible, highlighting "the enormous understanding, delicacy and sensitivity towards cultural heritage" of the patron foundations and the work of those responsible for the archives and collections that provided the documentation. As he emphasizes, this Issue not only looks at the past, but also invites us to reflect on the artistic dreams that shape cultural identity: "They have all worked on the materialization in the different arts of the typologies that appear in the pages of this book. No one better than them to unravel how much was behind the unrealized plans in Navarre".

In the prologue, Alfredo J. Morales, Full Professor of Art History at the University of Seville, highlights the trajectory of the Chair de Patrimonio y Arte Navarro and the relevance of its work in the preservation of Navarre's heritage. According to Morales, "the book is a first-hand testimony of the evolution of restoration practices in Navarre in recent decades and the consolidation of an increasingly widespread heritage awareness among Navarrese society". He adds that it is "a choral work that highlights the collective effort made in Navarre to preserve its rich artistic and monumental bequest , and that constitutes a valuable contribution to the knowledge of art and heritage of the region".

The work is available for download at this link.