18 February 2009

Global Seminars & Invited Speaker Series

STATELY HOMES AND PALACES OF NAVARRA

House and social position. Architecture and its social significance

Ms. Letizia Arbeteta Mira
Museum of America

This lecture, which served as an introduction to the course, presented some of the specific characteristics of Spanish castles, palaces and stately homes - understood as the abode of people belonging to the different ranks of nobility and the upper classes - throughout the most recent periods of history.

These creations, due to their richness, variety and originality, are not, in most cases, alien to the History of Art, but form an important part of it.

The relative precariousness and lack of adequate protection have made these valuable elements susceptible to destruction or radical, non-reversible transformation, with the loss of all or part of their historical-artistic values, something that must be stopped by creating a new social sensitivity that demands the effective protection, by the public authorities, of these unique buildings that, day by day, are diminishing at issue.

During the Middle Ages average they reflect the peninsular condition of a frontier place, favourable to invasions, with the presence of powerful walls and towers, which give a defensive aspect to many dwellings, thus combining the defensive function with the basic needs of habitation. With hardly any openings to the outside, they are imposing, sometimes almost impregnable, and prepared for a state of siege or prolonged resistance in places that are often difficult to access. The towers sometimes extended upwards, proclaiming the strength of certain families, as in Segovia or Cáceres, while, as time went on, they served mainly as watchtowers and lookout towers, as in the case of the lookout towers of Cádiz, linked to the Indies Fleet and overseas trade.
 

Patio in Carmona
 

It was not until the end of the Age average that, thanks to greater political stability and the influence of the Italian Renaissance, castles began to be transformed into palaces, opening up openings and loggias, creating new bodies, ornamenting the façades and enlarging the meagre gardens. The courtyard, accessed through an entrance hall, ceased to be an esplanade through which the dwellings and outbuildings were entered and became the central articulation, replacing, in the Spanish tradition, the hall or entrance space in the house. Although not all peninsular houses have a courtyard (and the courtyards vary in size and layout), they all have a staircase in keeping with the importance of the property, a staircase that provides access to the main or first floor, which is usually the place where the living rooms, kitchens, cabinets, master bedroom and, if possible, the chapel, among other spaces, are located. The upper floors are reserved for family members, children and servants, in addition to the use of the areas under the roof as drying rooms, storeroom for grain, attics or storage rooms.

The gardens and other outbuildings such as cellars, stables and warehouses are also analysed, including outbuildings, chapels, free-standing towers, secondary houses, sheds, etc.

Certain elements give personality to these buildings, from ironwork to flooring, window, door and roof carpentry, ceramic coverings, decorations such as painting or sgraffito, the presence of sculptural elements, etc., without lacking distinctive features that personalise the buildings, heraldic or symbolic elements - coats of arms, armorial stones, inscriptions such as currencies or companies - devotional or historical, such as dates of construction, names and other circumstances mentioned, etc.
 

Marqués de Cerralbo Palace. Rodrigo City
 

The examples provided came from all corners of Spain, with significant and well-known examples such as the Casa de Pilatos, the Palacio de las Dueñas, the house of the Countess of Lebrija, the Arizón house, the Alhambra, the Seville Alcazars or the Palace of the Marquis of Viana in Andalusia, as well as examples in Jerez de la Frontera or Úbeda; the royal palaces of Valladolid or Valencia, the Palacio del Infantado in Guadalajara, the Real Alcázar and subsequent Royal Palace in Madrid, as well as other Royal Sites; the Monastery of El Escorial; some Galician pazos and mansions in Santander; noble houses in Cáceres, Catalonia, the Trasnavarra region, etc. At final, a complete tour of the historical civil Building .
 

The cypress tree as a defining element of the pazo