Repoblación art and architecture
Encyclopedia
Repoblación
The Repoblación was the ninth-century repopulating of a large region between the River Duero and the Cantabrian Cordillera which had been depopulated in the early years of the Reconquista....
has been applied in recent years to the works, predominantly architectural
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, carried out in the Christian kingdoms of northern Spain between the end of the 9th and beginning of the 11th centuries. This encompasses all the buildings which until recently were regarded (and labeled) as Mozarabic, and cataloged following the guidelines set out by Manuel Gómez Moreno. More recently, however, historians have tended to move away from that title because it has been proved that these buildings do not possess the origin that was originally attributed to them.
This does not mean that one cannot appreciate Muslim influences in 10th century architecture in northern Spain, even in religious architecture. Such influences were inevitable given the presence of the neighboring Islamic state of the Caliph of Córdoba, which was highly developed culturally, artistically and economically. However, it had long been suggested that the monumental buildings in northern Spain from this period were crafted by the modest groups of Mozarabic immigrants that settled in the areas of repopulation when the living conditions in Muslim al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
became difficult to bear. As stated by professor Isidro Bango Torviso, suggesting that these immigrants were responsible for these buildings would be akin to suggesting that
The Art and Architecture of the Repoblación is identified as the third subset of the Hispanic Pre-Romanesque period, by the phases that correspond to the Visigothic art and Asturian art. Its architecture is a summary of elements of diverse extraction, irregularly distributed, in such a way that on occasion elements of paleo-Christian, Visigothic or Asturian origin come to predominate, while at other times Muslim characteristics come to the fore.
In any event, some of the identifying characterizations of this Repoblación ecclesiastic architectural style can be summarized as follows:
- Basilica or centralized plan; sometimes with opposing apseApseIn architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
s. - Main chapel on a rectangular plan on the exterior and ultra-semicircular in the interior.
- Use of the horseshoe archArchAn arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
of Muslim evocation, somewhat more closed and sloped than the Visigothic. - Generalized use of the alfiz (horseshoe arch doorway).
- Use of the twin and triple windows of Asturian tradition.
- Roofs composed of segmented vaultsVault (architecture)A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
, including traditional barrel vaultBarrel vaultA barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance. The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design...
s. - Grouped columnColumnA column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s forming composite pillars, with Corinthian capitalsCapital (architecture)In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
decorated with stylized elements and cinctures joined to it. - Walls re-enforced by exterior buttresses.
- Evolution of rafter ornaments to great lobed offsets that support very pronounced eaves.
- Decoration similar to the Visigothic based on volutes, swastikaSwastikaThe swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
s, and vegetable and animal themes forming projecting borders. - A great command of the technique in construction, employing principally ashlar by length and width.
- Absence or sobriety of exterior decoration.
- Diversity in the floor plans, certainly the majority stand out by the small proportions and discontinuous spaces covered by cupolas (groined, segmented, ribbed of horseshoe transept, etc.).
Examples
The following comprise the most representative buildings of the period:- Monastery of San Miguel de EscaladaMonastery of San Miguel de EscaladaSan Miguel de Escalada is a monastery in the province of León, Spain, located 10 km from the Way of St. James pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela...
(Province of León) - Hermitage of Santo Tomás de las OllasSanto Tomás de las OllasThe Santo Tomás de las Ollas hermitage is situated in the town with the same name close to Ponferrada, León .-History:The name of the hermitage, taken from the town Santo Tomás de las Ollas , comes from the main occupation of that locality: pottery...
(Province of León) - Church of Santiago de Peñalba (Province of León)
- Church of Santa María de Wamba (Province of Valladolid)
- Church of San Cebrián de Mazote (Province of Valladolid)
- Monastery of San Román de Hornija (Province of Valladolid)
- Chapel of San Miguel, Celanova (OurenseOurenseOurense is a city in northwestern Spain, the capital of the province of the same name in Galicia. Its population of 108,674 accounts for 30% of the population of the province and makes it the third largest city of Galicia.-Population:...
) - Hermitage of Santa Céntola y Santa Elena de Siero (Province of Burgos)
- Church of Santa María, Retortillo (CantabriaCantabriaCantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...
) - Church of San Vicente del Valle (Province of Burgos)
- Tower of Doña Urraca, in CovarrubiasCovarrubiasCovarrubias is a village and municipality in the province of Burgos in the Spanish autonomous community of Castile and León.It has 640 inhabitants, and it is near Mecerreyes and Hortigüela....
(Province of Burgos) - Church of Santa María, Lebeña (CantabriaCantabriaCantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...
) - Hermitage of San Román de Moroso, Arenas de IguñaArenas de IguñaArenas de Iguña is a municipality located in the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain. According to the 2007 census, the city has a population of 1,927 inhabitants.-Towns:*Arenas de Iguña *Bostronizo*Cohiño*Las Fraguas*Los Llares*Palacio...
(CantabriaCantabriaCantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...
) - Hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga, CaltojarCaltojarCaltojar is a municipality located in the province of Soria, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 111 inhabitants.right|thumb|250px|La Veruela Atalaya....
(Province of Soria) - Monastery of San Juan de la Peña, JacaJacaJaca is a city of northeastern Spain near the border with France, in the midst of the Pyrenees in the province of Huesca...
(Province of Huesca) - Church of San Pedro de Lárrede (Province of Huesca)
- Pre-romanesque church of the Monastery of LeyreMonastery of LeyreThe Monastery of San Salvador of Leyre is a religious complex at the south of the Sierra of Leyre, in northern Navarre, Spain, standing out as one of the most important historical monasteries of Spain. The oldest records of the site date from 842, when Íñigo Arista, held as first king of Pamplona,...
(NavarreNavarreNavarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
) - Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla (La RiojaLa Rioja (Spain)La Rioja is an autonomous community and a province of northern Spain. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and Nájera.-History:...
) - Monastery of San Salvador de Tábara (Zamora)
- Church of Sant Cristòfol, Cabrils (Province of Barcelona)
- Church of Sant Julià de Boada (Province of Girona)
- Church of Santa Maria de Matadars (Province of Barcelona)
External links
- http://www.turismo-prerromanico.es/arterural/base/MOZARABEing.htm Spanish Pre-Romanesque Art Guide; Mozarabic Art.