Spanish+Architecture

=Architecture in Spain=

//Sara Eilenstine//
Throughout the ages of time, culture, royalty or republics, one can follow the time line of history with the architecture they encounter. The architecture can tell us what was the beliefs of the time such as hierarchy with palaces and castles. It can show if any religion was of power or highly regarded in the culture with the churches, worship centers of Christian, Jewish, or Muslim. Maybe even show influences of an outside conqueror designs of their homeland architecture incorporated into the already existing design. There are many examples of this and it is still going on today with the expression of the times.

In this site, we will see some of the most important trends throughout the history of the Iberian Peninsula:


 * Pre-Roman period
 * Roman Architecture
 * Muslim presence in Iberia
 * Modern Spain and the influences on the people

Pre-Roman period
The first and oldest findings in Spain were around the time of 3000 to 5000 B.C. which are the caves called **Cova Negra (Játiva)** that are in Valencia part of Spain. These structures are presumably from the //Megalythical culture.//



Some of the other buildings of this time were simple funeral chambers that were constructed in the Stone Age. This building was called the **Dolmen**. These chambers used to be in the shapes of pseudocircles or trapezoids where the stones started at the bottom and they stacked them to form a roof. The largest of these buildings is the **Cueva de Menga**, which is 25 metres deep and 4 metres high, and was built with 32 megaliths.

There is not much information on this group except from what the findings of bones and raw materials showed.Though it is known that after this time a group that inhabited the Iberian Peninsula were called the **Iberians** which the Greeks so humbly gave them. For the sake of simplicity 'Iberians' will be used for the whole populous of the peninsula.Though the terminology 'Iberians' is a vague and general term for the area. There were actually numerous populations of different cultures in the peninsula. The Iberians started shaping the architecture around the time some other regions started as well such as Mediterranean and Northern Europe.

Later Celtic tribes had immigrated into the Iberian Peninsula from the north in 1200 B.C. They integrated with the other Iberian cultures and created the **Celt-Iberian** architecture. With the mixing of ideology, beliefs, and other social factors the architecture was influenced mostly from the Celtic influences.

Roman Architecture


The Iberian Peninsula had held major Empires of the world that changed not only the 'old' way of thinking about the the land but also government, philosophy, theatre/plays, and the modern calendar, but it also held the start of the most advanced architecture in the world that will stand to the 21st century. The **Roman Empire** started their conquest in 218 B.C. [|Urbanization] started and large cities were constructed in Celtic-Iberian civilizations. The Romans created some of the first paved roads connecting the major cities together as well as aqueducts that channeled water across many miles. Lapunzina, Alejandro had stated in his book that "the Empire was an empire of cities with a city as its head. Its order was a urban order. The architecture of the Empire, since it was Roman architecture, was an order of spaces shaped to constitute the environment of its moral order, matching its security and dignity with decorous spatial grandeur" (xxvii). With the Roman Empire the peninsula was divided into three provinces which are Citerior on the East, Baetica in the South, and Lusitania in the West which held Modern Day Portugal and Spain.



Other significant architectures that helped the survival of the Roman Empire was the bridges they constructed to help keep cities existing on the outskirts of the empire connected, such as the Alcántara Bridge. The [|theaters and amphi-theaters] where also a huge part to the Empire and the societal outlook. It taught the citizens the beliefs of the rulers and showed their history and folklore.

One of the main advantage that the Romans had over other architectures in the world is that they took full advantage of what Arches could do for their creations. The use of arches reduced the need to use extra resources that were hard to make such as concrete and mortar and reduce the time of construction considerably. The aqueduct for instance used the [|'semi-round' arch] to hold it in place through the ages.

Through poor funding, failing government, expansion, civil wars, and outside influences of other countries and war the Roman Empire finally fell in the 5th Century and with it part of the Iberian Peninsula was disintegrated. These effects were of the first major conqueror in this land and more effects were to take place with later conquerors.

Muslim Presence in Iberia


In 711 A.D. the Iberian Peninsula encountered an influence that would change the face of their culture forever, which were the Moors. An army made of Arabs, Berbers, and other cultures led by General Tariq crossing the [|Straight of Gibraltar] plundered through the Iberian Peninsula and conquered the Visigoths Kingdom that lived there after the Roman Empire. This conquering culture controlled the Iberian Peninsula for the next 800 years where they incorporated their Muslim religion, ideology, and architecture into the region. Some of the aspects that are noticeable are the Half Horse Shoe Arch in the windows of palaces and Mosques, the complex system of water and how they preserved it not only for personal use but beauty as well which can be seen in the [|Palace Alhambra] and __ [|Palacio de Generalife] __. The people were originally from a desert land and they knew the importance of water.

Modern Spain and influences on the people
The Iberian Peninsula is now officially called Spain which is now its own country with the lasting effects of their past. Many parts of Spain are taking efforts into restoring and maintaining their historical monuments and some are still in use such as Cathedrals, Mosques, and some buildings have been turned into touring centers or museums. Many people in Spain have felt the tide of culture change through experience, stories from their families, or simply living in the cities and seeing the different influences. Macarena Tajeda-Lopez was talking about how her family uses buildings in her home town as a social network, the Franco rule in Spain and his effects, and how certain buildings had specific meanings in her life and culture. This is just a small look into the influences on the lives in Spaniards, but it does show how important architecture is in the country of not just Spain but around the world. media type="youtube" key="kck7smedi-I?rel=0" height="360" width="640" align="center"

**References:**
http://www.red2000.com/spain/primer/arch.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch

http://www.spanish-architecture.info/A-HIST.htm

http://www.spainthenandnow.com/spanish-architecture/default_1.aspx

http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/moors2.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187514-c119759/Madrid:Spain:History.Of.Architecture.Of.Spain.html

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/spain/estimeln.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_architecture - Provided the pictures

Lapunzina, Alejandro. //Architecture of Spain.// Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005.