University of Osuna
Encyclopedia
The University of Osuna , officially the Colegio-Universidad de la Purísima Concepción en Osuna ("College-University of the Immaculate Conception in Osuna") was a university in Osuna
, Kingdom of Seville
, Spain
from 1548 until 1824. Spain granted the university building the status of a monument
in 2004. Since 1995, the building has again been a site for university-level studies.
of Pope Paul III
, and it was a peer university to the likes of the universities of Alcalá de Henares
, Bologna
, or Salamanca
. That bull was granted due to the efforts of Don Juan Téllez Girón
, Fourth Count of Ureña and First Duke of Osuna, who also gave it an endowment sufficient to its needs. Authorization for the university came directly from the pope without any specific involvement of the Spanish monarchy.
The University of Osuna had a system of scholarship
s, a residential hall for its students, and even its own burial ground. There were fifteen major professorial chairs in the university and eight lesser chairs in the associated college; these were grouped into faculties of Medicine, Law, Canon Law, Theology, and Arts. Of these, Theology was the most attended. Medical instruction was entirely theoretical: there was no operating theater. Philip II
later added a chair in Mathematics.
The first rector was Francisco Maldonado; the last was Diego Ramirez. Dominicans
, Augustinians
, Franciscans, and Carmelites
all taught at the university.
While one could get an excellent education at the old University of Osuna, one could also drift through, attend classes in a desultory manner, and add an academic degree to his name, as long as the fees were paid (supplemented by "propinas", tips, if one's academic performance were truly poor). Osuna was not unique among Spanish universities of its time in this respect, but it was often singled out as an example. Cervantes
, whose grandfather served as corregidor
of Osuna, mentions the university three times in his writings, never favorably. Writing a century and a half later, Diego de Torres Villarroel
, a professor at the University of Salamanca
, described the granting of degrees by the University of Osuna, as well as at the universities of Sigüenza and Irache, as amounting to "civil simony
".
Partly for these reasons, the University of Osuna narrowly escaped closure by Charles III
in 1771 and was one of eleven universities closed in the reform of 1807. Its prerogatives were granted to the University of Seville
. The university did not quite close down at this time, though its operations do seem to have been suspended when the building was used as a French headquarters during the Peninsular War
. After the war, the university continued precariously until its definitive closure in 1824.
As elsewhere in Spain in that era, the privileged colegiales were a social class apart, a student elite guaranteed housing and food, and virtually guaranteed a more or less brilliant future. At its establishment, Osuna set aside funding for twenty colegiales: six in theology, six in canon law, four in civil law, and four in medicine. This number proved excessively ambitious: neither the University of Seville
nor the University of Granada
ever hosted so many colegiales, and, in practice, neither did Osuna: the largest number ever at one time was eight, in 1596.
Positions were also endowed for 36 sopistas or capigorrones (the names mean, respectively, "eaters of thin soup" and "layabouts"), 12 each in grammar, arts, theology. These positions—again, as in other Spanish universities of the time—were reserved for poor young men of ability; they received a modest scholarship and their bread and board. It is not known how many sopistas actually attended the university, though there is a building near the university that tradition says was the "soup house" where they took meals. The degree of their poverty can be ascertained in part from a specific provision to supply them with shoes. These positions were set aside not so much to aid social mobility
as because these graduates often reflected so well on the university. Their cuchara al cinturón ("spoon on the belt") remains a symbol of the tuna
(a type of student troubadour) down to this day.
Finally, there were the ordinary students, the manteístas ("day students"). Some of these were natives of Osuna or nearby towns under the seigneury of the same duke, and lived with their families or in rented rooms. The majority had taken religious orders and lived in their convents. The records show the rectors of the university having to involve themselves in numerous cases where a manteísta failed to pay his rent, and no small number of manteístas impregnated a housemaid and took religious orders as an alternative to taking on other responsibilities.
As elsewhere in Spain, students were often disorderly: street riots were not uncommon, especially among those who were living in poverty to the point of hunger. In many cases, the student class could not be distinguished readily from that of vagrants, beggars, and thieves. Such conduct by some of the students often made the studies of the more responsible students difficult. In 1782, the rector reminded the students to "abstain from throwing rocks, both inside and outside the university; from doing damage to the doors and buildings; from defacing the walls…"
The buildings erected under the patronage of the First Duke of Osuna are important primarily because of the extraordinary effort made to adopt and diffuse new stylistic currents and ideas from the Italian
architecture of the time. The Renaissance
aspects of the buildings are patent, as is the relation to the ideology
of humanism
in a building expressly created as a center for modern education.
The surviving university building testifies to the Renaissance aesthetics, providing one of the most singular and defining architectural examples of Osuna's past greatness.
The four exterior walls are of stone. Several rectangular linteled
openings are placed symmetrically. The towers at the two corners in front are cylindrical. The cylinders each extend a full story above the building, and then are covered by polygonal spires. The other two towers, in the rear, are square, in the styel of buttress
es; they extend to the same height as those in front, and their spires are pyramidal. The glazed ceramic coatings of the spires is in blue and white.
The principal façade faces southeast, and is ornamented ashlar
stonework. On the right half of the upper story are two linteled window bays, flanked by half-columns, with a pediment
above. The principal entrance, which gives access to the interior, is to the left of center. For roughly two thirds of its height, the door is flanked by columns, over which there is a semicircular arch. That entire assemblage is finished at the outer edge with molding, flanked on both sides by attached columns on a high base, over which is an entablature
with pinnacles on either end. On the second story over the entrance is a niche with an statue of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus
. This, in turn, is flanked with columns and pinnacles, a miniature of the entrance below; a tondo
above shows the anagram of the Virgin. Over this all, another semicircular arch is worked into the façade. There in another window bay in the upper story to the left of the entrance, similar to the two bays on the right. There are four smaller windows on the upper part of the ground floor.
s, decorated with inlay work. This space opens on the right to the chapel, straight ahead to the central courtyard, and on the left to the Sala de la Girona.
style. Immediately above the entry is the choir loft, whose carved ceiling has a single order of beams. The center of this ceiling is decorated with Plateresque motifs alternating with tracery and pineapples. Over this ceiling is the rostrum of the upper choir, composed of a sill of wooden balusters.
The presbytery
is raised above the rest of the chapel and at its head sits a neoclassical altarpiece with paintings that date back to a former Renaissance altarpiece. It is separated from the nave by a bay, which is segmented by a 16th century wrought-iron grating composed of two horizontal bands that divide the two areas. These bands have Renaissance-era decoration with a motif of flaming golden scrolls. Between the two bands are bent vertical bars that—in the lower central area—open to provide access to the chapel. At the top of the grating is a crest composed of semicircles made of bent bars, pointed and crowned with heraldic motifs, configured as an entablature.
The pulpit
, made of wood, is on the left wall of the chapel. It consists of an access staircase with a sill of balustrades, a rectangular floor affixed to the wall like a balcony, and a semicircular bay embedded in the wall, under a triangular pediment topped with a cross.
On the right wall the four church fathers are represented, each seated on a chair and surrounded by books scattered on the ground. From left to right they are Saint Jerome
, Saint Gregory, Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine
, dressed according to the traditional iconography of these saints, each holding a staffs and a model of the church in one hand while the other shows the pen as a symbol of scripture. The composition is completed with architectural backgrounds and at the bottom with the names of each character written in classical characters on phylacteries.
The mural on the wall facing the one previously described represents the Four Evangelists
seated on a marble bench. From left to right are Saint Mark
, Saint Luke
, Saint John
and Saint Matthew
, each of them with his symbol. The last of the murals is on the front door. It presents a courtly scene in an imaginary rural landscape. A palatial building is surrounded by large trees and a river. Most the prominent focus is a hunting
scene of galloping horsemen, but there are also shepherds and dogs caring for their herd. Analysis of the forms and the garments of the characters indicate has shown that the work dates from the early 18th century.
, supporting paired, symmetrical semicircular bays. Above the columns are located small pillars that, at their connection to the entablature, form an alfiz
, a type of arch characteristic of Morisco
architecture. The upper galleries are composed of columns on high plinth
s, supporting semicircular bays, paired and covered with iron railings. In the center of the courtyard stands a well with a stone curb.
The staircase rises from the southeast side of the courtyard. Three flights of stairs occupy a rectangular space. The stairs are covered by a barrel vault
whose cladding is decorated with octagonal coffer
s.
, Annunciation
, Nativity
, and Epiphany and several portraits, including two each of Don Juan Téllez Girón and Doña María de la Cueva.
s or secondary school
s). The old university reopened in 1847 as such an institute, and operated in that capacity until 1993, when it moved to a former old age home restored and adapted by the Council of Education of the Andalusian Autonomous Government
.
Since 1995, the building has again been the site of university-level instruction, in the form of the Escuela Universitaria. This required a comprehensive restoration. On the one hand, the building was renovated to resemble as closely as possible its historical appearance; on the other hand, electricity, sanitary facilities, and climatization were brought up to modern standards. The wooden portions of the building, especially the elaborate ceilings, were painstakingly restored, as was the tilework on the towers. One new emergency staircase was added at the corner of the courtyard opposite the historic staircase; an emergency exit was added at the back. An elevator was also added, adjacent to the new staircase.
During restoration, some interesting discoveries were made: the arrangement of openings to the courtyard had apparently been changed at least once in the course of the building's history. The decision was made to retain the longstanding configuration, rather than to restore an even earlier one.
Osuna
Osuna is a town and municipality in the province of Seville, southern Spain, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. , it has a population of c...
, Kingdom of Seville
Kingdom of Seville
The Kingdom of Seville was a territorial jurisdiction of the Crown of Castile from the time it was won from Muslim rule in 1248 during the Reconquista until Javier de Burgos' provincial division of Spain in 1833...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
from 1548 until 1824. Spain granted the university building the status of a monument
Monument (Spain)
The current legislation regarding historical monuments in Spain dates from 1985. However, Monumentos nacionales were first designated in the nineteenth century. It was originally a fairly broad category for national heritage sites protecting, for example, the Alhambra...
in 2004. Since 1995, the building has again been a site for university-level studies.
The old university
The University of Osuna was founded based on a bullPapal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
of Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...
, and it was a peer university to the likes of the universities of Alcalá de Henares
University of Alcalá
The University of Alcalá is a public university located in Alcalá de Henares, a city 35 km northeast of Madrid in Spain. Founded in 1499, it was moved in 1836 to Madrid. In 1977, the University was reopened in its same historical buildings...
, Bologna
University of Bologna
The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
, or Salamanca
University of Salamanca
The University of Salamanca is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid. It was founded in 1134 and given the Royal charter of foundation by King Alfonso IX in 1218. It is the oldest founded university in Spain and the third oldest European...
. That bull was granted due to the efforts of Don Juan Téllez Girón
Juan Téllez-Girón, 4th Count of Ureña
Juan Téllez-Girón, the saint, 4th Count of Ureña was a Spanish nobleman.Juan Téllez-Girón was born in Osuna, the third son of Juan Téllez-Girón, 2nd Count of Ureña and of Leonor de la Vega Velasco, daughter of Pedro Fernández de Velasco, 2nd Count of Haro. He succeeded to the titles of his older...
, Fourth Count of Ureña and First Duke of Osuna, who also gave it an endowment sufficient to its needs. Authorization for the university came directly from the pope without any specific involvement of the Spanish monarchy.
The University of Osuna had a system of scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s, a residential hall for its students, and even its own burial ground. There were fifteen major professorial chairs in the university and eight lesser chairs in the associated college; these were grouped into faculties of Medicine, Law, Canon Law, Theology, and Arts. Of these, Theology was the most attended. Medical instruction was entirely theoretical: there was no operating theater. Philip II
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
later added a chair in Mathematics.
The first rector was Francisco Maldonado; the last was Diego Ramirez. Dominicans
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, Augustinians
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
, Franciscans, and Carmelites
Carmelites
The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
all taught at the university.
While one could get an excellent education at the old University of Osuna, one could also drift through, attend classes in a desultory manner, and add an academic degree to his name, as long as the fees were paid (supplemented by "propinas", tips, if one's academic performance were truly poor). Osuna was not unique among Spanish universities of its time in this respect, but it was often singled out as an example. Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...
, whose grandfather served as corregidor
Corregidor (position)
A corregidor was a local, administrative and judicial position in Spain and its empire. He was the highest authority of a Corregimiento. In the Americas a corregidor was often called an alcalde mayor. They began to be appointed in fourteenth century Castile and the institution was definitively...
of Osuna, mentions the university three times in his writings, never favorably. Writing a century and a half later, Diego de Torres Villarroel
Diego de Torres Villarroel
Diego de Torres Villarroel was a Spanish writer, poet, dramatist, doctor, mathematician, priest and professor of the University of Salamanca. His most famous work is his autobiography, Vida, ascendencia, nacimiento, crianza y aventuras del Doctor Don Diego de Torres Villarroel .-Life:Villarroel...
, a professor at the University of Salamanca
University of Salamanca
The University of Salamanca is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid. It was founded in 1134 and given the Royal charter of foundation by King Alfonso IX in 1218. It is the oldest founded university in Spain and the third oldest European...
, described the granting of degrees by the University of Osuna, as well as at the universities of Sigüenza and Irache, as amounting to "civil simony
Simony
Simony is the act of paying for sacraments and consequently for holy offices or for positions in the hierarchy of a church, named after Simon Magus , who appears in the Acts of the Apostles 8:9-24...
".
Partly for these reasons, the University of Osuna narrowly escaped closure by Charles III
Charles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
in 1771 and was one of eleven universities closed in the reform of 1807. Its prerogatives were granted to the University of Seville
University of Seville
The Universidad de Sevilla or University of Seville, in English, is a top-ranked European university in Seville, Spain. Founded under the name of Colegio Santa María de Jesús in 1505, the University of Seville, with a student body of over 50,000, is one of the top-ranked universities in the country...
. The university did not quite close down at this time, though its operations do seem to have been suspended when the building was used as a French headquarters during the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
. After the war, the university continued precariously until its definitive closure in 1824.
Student body
There were three types of students at the university: colegiales, sopistas, and manteístas.As elsewhere in Spain in that era, the privileged colegiales were a social class apart, a student elite guaranteed housing and food, and virtually guaranteed a more or less brilliant future. At its establishment, Osuna set aside funding for twenty colegiales: six in theology, six in canon law, four in civil law, and four in medicine. This number proved excessively ambitious: neither the University of Seville
University of Seville
The Universidad de Sevilla or University of Seville, in English, is a top-ranked European university in Seville, Spain. Founded under the name of Colegio Santa María de Jesús in 1505, the University of Seville, with a student body of over 50,000, is one of the top-ranked universities in the country...
nor the University of Granada
University of Granada
The University of Granada is a public university located in Granada, Spain that enrolls approximately 80,000 students. The university also has campuses in Ceuta and Melilla. Every year, over 2,000 European students enroll in the UGR through the Erasmus Programme, making it the most popular...
ever hosted so many colegiales, and, in practice, neither did Osuna: the largest number ever at one time was eight, in 1596.
Positions were also endowed for 36 sopistas or capigorrones (the names mean, respectively, "eaters of thin soup" and "layabouts"), 12 each in grammar, arts, theology. These positions—again, as in other Spanish universities of the time—were reserved for poor young men of ability; they received a modest scholarship and their bread and board. It is not known how many sopistas actually attended the university, though there is a building near the university that tradition says was the "soup house" where they took meals. The degree of their poverty can be ascertained in part from a specific provision to supply them with shoes. These positions were set aside not so much to aid social mobility
Social mobility
Social mobility refers to the movement of people in a population from one social class or economic level to another. It typically refers to vertical mobility -- movement of individuals or groups up from one socio-economic level to another, often by changing jobs or marrying; but can also refer to...
as because these graduates often reflected so well on the university. Their cuchara al cinturón ("spoon on the belt") remains a symbol of the tuna
Tuna (music)
A University Tuna is a musical group in Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands, Central America or South America, made up of university students. It is also known as a Tuna or Tunas if it is in plural...
(a type of student troubadour) down to this day.
Finally, there were the ordinary students, the manteístas ("day students"). Some of these were natives of Osuna or nearby towns under the seigneury of the same duke, and lived with their families or in rented rooms. The majority had taken religious orders and lived in their convents. The records show the rectors of the university having to involve themselves in numerous cases where a manteísta failed to pay his rent, and no small number of manteístas impregnated a housemaid and took religious orders as an alternative to taking on other responsibilities.
As elsewhere in Spain, students were often disorderly: street riots were not uncommon, especially among those who were living in poverty to the point of hunger. In many cases, the student class could not be distinguished readily from that of vagrants, beggars, and thieves. Such conduct by some of the students often made the studies of the more responsible students difficult. In 1782, the rector reminded the students to "abstain from throwing rocks, both inside and outside the university; from doing damage to the doors and buildings; from defacing the walls…"
Notable graduates
- Joseph Blanco WhiteJoseph Blanco WhiteJoseph Blanco White, born José María Blanco Crespo , was a Spanish theologian and poet....
(José María Blanco White), poet, theologian. - Rodrigo CaroRodrigo CaroRodrigo Caro was a Spanish historian, archeologist, lawyer, poet and writer....
, poet, historian, archeologist, and lawyer. - Luís Vélez de GuevaraLuís Vélez de GuevaraLuis Vélez de Guevara was a Spanish dramatist and novelist.Velez de Guevara was born at Écija and was of Jewish converso descent...
, novelist and playwright, graduated in 1596
The present university
In 1995 the city of Osuna began the adaptation of the old university building for modern university-level classes. The Escuela Universitaria opened for the academic year 1996–97. As of 1999, the university was granting diplomas in Labor Relations, Business, and Health Sciences.Significance
The building of the former University of Osuna is significant both architecturally and for its long history as a the seat of the university from its construction in 1548 to its closure in 1824. Its construction was ordered by Don Juan Téllez Girón, founder of the university. The First Duke of Osuna was responsible for numerous buildings in his domain, nearly all of a religious character. The university building is, therefore, particularly notable as an essentially civil building devoted to education.The buildings erected under the patronage of the First Duke of Osuna are important primarily because of the extraordinary effort made to adopt and diffuse new stylistic currents and ideas from the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
architecture of the time. The Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
aspects of the buildings are patent, as is the relation to the ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
of humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
in a building expressly created as a center for modern education.
The surviving university building testifies to the Renaissance aesthetics, providing one of the most singular and defining architectural examples of Osuna's past greatness.
Exterior
The former University of Osuna is a rectangular two-story building organized around a square courtyard. Its architectural design is characterized by simplicity and severity of its straight lines. Its unique profile, having a tower at each of its four corners, each tower topped by a spire with a glazed ceramic coating, makes it one of the most emblematic buildings of the city.The four exterior walls are of stone. Several rectangular linteled
Post and lintel
Post and lintel, or in contemporary usage Post and beam, is a simple construction method using a lintel, header, or architrave as the horizontal member over a building void supported at its ends by two vertical columns, pillars, or posts...
openings are placed symmetrically. The towers at the two corners in front are cylindrical. The cylinders each extend a full story above the building, and then are covered by polygonal spires. The other two towers, in the rear, are square, in the styel of buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es; they extend to the same height as those in front, and their spires are pyramidal. The glazed ceramic coatings of the spires is in blue and white.
The principal façade faces southeast, and is ornamented ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
stonework. On the right half of the upper story are two linteled window bays, flanked by half-columns, with a pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
above. The principal entrance, which gives access to the interior, is to the left of center. For roughly two thirds of its height, the door is flanked by columns, over which there is a semicircular arch. That entire assemblage is finished at the outer edge with molding, flanked on both sides by attached columns on a high base, over which is an entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
with pinnacles on either end. On the second story over the entrance is a niche with an statue of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. This, in turn, is flanked with columns and pinnacles, a miniature of the entrance below; a tondo
Tondo (art)
A tondo is a Renaissance term for a circular work of art, either a painting or a sculpture. The word derives from the Italian rotondo, "round." The term is usually not used in English for small round paintings, but only those over about 60 cm in diameter, thus excluding many round portrait...
above shows the anagram of the Virgin. Over this all, another semicircular arch is worked into the façade. There in another window bay in the upper story to the left of the entrance, similar to the two bays on the right. There are four smaller windows on the upper part of the ground floor.
Interior
In the interior, most of the original rooms have been adapted and transformed into modern classrooms devoid of any artistic and architectural interest. However, the southeast side of the building, where the main entrance is located, retains its original structure, as do the gateway, the chapel, the Sala de la Girona ("Hall of Girona"), the central courtyard, the staircase leading upstairs and the old library.Vestibule
One enters through the principal doorway to a rectangular vestibule or hall with a carved ceiling with two orders of beams on corbelCorbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
s, decorated with inlay work. This space opens on the right to the chapel, straight ahead to the central courtyard, and on the left to the Sala de la Girona.
Chapel
The chapel is rectangular, again with a carved ceiling with two orders of beams in the PlateresquePlateresque
Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" , was an artistic movement, especially architectural, traditionally held to be exclusive to Spain and its territories, which appeared between the late Gothic and early Renaissance in the late 15th century, and spread over the next two centuries...
style. Immediately above the entry is the choir loft, whose carved ceiling has a single order of beams. The center of this ceiling is decorated with Plateresque motifs alternating with tracery and pineapples. Over this ceiling is the rostrum of the upper choir, composed of a sill of wooden balusters.
The presbytery
Presbytery (architecture)
The presbytery is the name for an area in a church building which is reserved for the clergy.In the oldest church it is separated by short walls, by small columns and pilasters in the Renaissance ones; it can also be raised, being reachable by a few steps, usually with railings....
is raised above the rest of the chapel and at its head sits a neoclassical altarpiece with paintings that date back to a former Renaissance altarpiece. It is separated from the nave by a bay, which is segmented by a 16th century wrought-iron grating composed of two horizontal bands that divide the two areas. These bands have Renaissance-era decoration with a motif of flaming golden scrolls. Between the two bands are bent vertical bars that—in the lower central area—open to provide access to the chapel. At the top of the grating is a crest composed of semicircles made of bent bars, pointed and crowned with heraldic motifs, configured as an entablature.
The pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
, made of wood, is on the left wall of the chapel. It consists of an access staircase with a sill of balustrades, a rectangular floor affixed to the wall like a balcony, and a semicircular bay embedded in the wall, under a triangular pediment topped with a cross.
Sala de la Girona
The Sala de la Girona is roughly rectangular, with a carved ceiling with two orders of beams over corbels. The upper part of its cladding is covered with murals painted in the second half of the 16th century. In the front end wall is a mural of the Virgin Mary enthroned with the baby Jesus on her lap; on both sides are groups of angels who giving him presents, as well as symbols related to the iconology of the Virgin. The composition is framed between drapes held back by angels, revealing an architectural background.On the right wall the four church fathers are represented, each seated on a chair and surrounded by books scattered on the ground. From left to right they are Saint Jerome
Saint Jerome
Saint Jerome is a Christian church father, best known for translating the Bible into Latin.Saint Jerome may also refer to:*Jerome of Pavia , Bishop of Pavia...
, Saint Gregory, Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
, dressed according to the traditional iconography of these saints, each holding a staffs and a model of the church in one hand while the other shows the pen as a symbol of scripture. The composition is completed with architectural backgrounds and at the bottom with the names of each character written in classical characters on phylacteries.
The mural on the wall facing the one previously described represents the Four Evangelists
Four Evangelists
In Christian tradition the Four Evangelists are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament that bear the following titles:*Gospel according to Matthew*Gospel according to Mark...
seated on a marble bench. From left to right are Saint Mark
Mark the Evangelist
Mark the Evangelist is the traditional author of the Gospel of Mark. He is one of the Seventy Disciples of Christ, and the founder of the Church of Alexandria, one of the original four main sees of Christianity....
, Saint Luke
Luke the Evangelist
Luke the Evangelist was an Early Christian writer whom Church Fathers such as Jerome and Eusebius said was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles...
, Saint John
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
and Saint Matthew
Matthew the Evangelist
Matthew the Evangelist was, according to the Bible, one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the four Evangelists.-Identity:...
, each of them with his symbol. The last of the murals is on the front door. It presents a courtly scene in an imaginary rural landscape. A palatial building is surrounded by large trees and a river. Most the prominent focus is a hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
scene of galloping horsemen, but there are also shepherds and dogs caring for their herd. Analysis of the forms and the garments of the characters indicate has shown that the work dates from the early 18th century.
Courtyard or patio
The central courtyard is rectangular, two stories high, with a double arcade on all four sides. The lower floor features marble columns of the Tuscan orderTuscan order
Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...
, supporting paired, symmetrical semicircular bays. Above the columns are located small pillars that, at their connection to the entablature, form an alfiz
Alfiz
The alfiz is an architectonic adornment, consisting of a moulding, usually a rectangular panel, which encloses the outward side of an arch...
, a type of arch characteristic of Morisco
Morisco
Moriscos or Mouriscos , meaning "Moorish", were the converted Christian inhabitants of Spain and Portugal of Muslim heritage. Over time the term was used in a pejorative sense applied to those nominal Catholics who were suspected of secretly practicing Islam.-Demographics:By the beginning of the...
architecture. The upper galleries are composed of columns on high plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
s, supporting semicircular bays, paired and covered with iron railings. In the center of the courtyard stands a well with a stone curb.
The staircase rises from the southeast side of the courtyard. Three flights of stairs occupy a rectangular space. The stairs are covered by a barrel vault
Barrel vault
A 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...
whose cladding is decorated with octagonal coffer
Coffer
A coffer in architecture, is a sunken panel in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault...
s.
Library
The former library—as of 2004 an assembly hall—sits over the chapel and the principal entrance. It is reached through the gallery of the courtyard, at the top of the staircase. It is rectangular, covered with very elongated trough-shaped armature.Paintings
In addition to the murals mentioned above and the paintings of the four church fathers and the Four Evangelists, the building also has paintings of the Immaculate ConceptionImmaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
, Annunciation
Annunciation
The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...
, Nativity
Nativity of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
, and Epiphany and several portraits, including two each of Don Juan Téllez Girón and Doña María de la Cueva.
Use of the building after 1824
The fate of the building between 1824 and 1847 is unknown. The Law of Public Instruction of 17 September 1845 established Institutos de Segunda Enseñanza (roughly high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
s or secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s). The old university reopened in 1847 as such an institute, and operated in that capacity until 1993, when it moved to a former old age home restored and adapted by the Council of Education of the Andalusian Autonomous Government
Andalusian Autonomous Government
The Andalusian Autonomous Government is the regional government body of Andalusia, one of the 17 autonomous communities which make up Spain...
.
Since 1995, the building has again been the site of university-level instruction, in the form of the Escuela Universitaria. This required a comprehensive restoration. On the one hand, the building was renovated to resemble as closely as possible its historical appearance; on the other hand, electricity, sanitary facilities, and climatization were brought up to modern standards. The wooden portions of the building, especially the elaborate ceilings, were painstakingly restored, as was the tilework on the towers. One new emergency staircase was added at the corner of the courtyard opposite the historic staircase; an emergency exit was added at the back. An elevator was also added, adjacent to the new staircase.
During restoration, some interesting discoveries were made: the arrangement of openings to the courtyard had apparently been changed at least once in the course of the building's history. The decision was made to retain the longstanding configuration, rather than to restore an even earlier one.