Planos - History Lab

Plan of the city of Almeria in 1709

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:41 +0000

The Provincial Archive of Almería contains an excellent collection of maps and cartographic documentation. In this case, we are looking at a map of the city of Almería drawn by the Marquis of Canales (1709). In it we can perfectly appreciate elements such as the city wall, the Alcazaba, the network of narrow streets and, curiously, a fortress is drawn, with artillery, which must have disappeared at the end of the War of the Spanish Succession.

The post Plan of the city of Almeria in 1709 first appeared on History Lab.

Plan of the medieval Christian city of Valencia

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:14 +0000

The city of Valencia was incorporated into the Crown of Aragon in 1238, becoming the capital of its namesake kingdom. Christian development endowed the city with important economic functions that had a progressive impact: by 1450, Valencia would be one of the main commercial, financial and artisan centres of the western Mediterranean. Its socio-economic growth was accompanied by its urban expansion; the various factions of local power stamped the space with their hierarchy as well as the uses and value of the land. As a result, the plan of Valencia took the form of the one presented here. We can highlight the main elements: the Christian marketplace, where the economic activity took place; the churches that radiate the urban centre, which were established during the process of “parochialisation” of the city after its conquest; and the city walls, which were extended according to the needs of the city. All of this was supervised by the Municipal Council which, among other functions, was concerned with the beautification of the public space, its functionality and the transformation of the territory with the demolition of houses and the creation of new urban roads.

The post Plan of the medieval Christian city of Valencia first appeared on History Lab.

Map of El Ballestero (Albacete) in 1752

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:09 +0000

The Cadastre of the Marquis de la Ensenada, carried out in the middle of the 18th century, was a great impetus on the part of the government to increase fiscal and demographic control. Of all the areas concerned, such as professions, location, economic activities, number of inhabitants, churches, brotherhoods, and the surroundings of the municipalities, it is the latter which graphically revealed the context in which the households were settled.
This example of the village of El Ballestero, dependent as a hamlet on the town of Alcaraz during the Modern Age, had begun its urban configuration before its emancipation. In 1752 we see a total of 7 roads containing a total of 61 dwelling houses. The main areas of the town centre were located around the square and the church. The average size of all the buildings in El Ballestero ranged between 100 and 150 m2. The average household size was 3.6 tenants, and nuclear households accounted for 80% of the total.

The post Map of El Ballestero (Albacete) in 1752 first appeared on History Lab.

Plan of a cave-house in Balazote (Albacete) in the middle of the 18th century

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:09 +0000

Within the varied architecture of the dwelling, in the rural world we find cave-houses: dwellings excavated in the rock which could be simple, with a kitchen and a room, or more complex, with a greater number of rooms and even fireplaces. Among the latter we find the cave-house of José Antonio López, a resident of Balazote (Albacete). This house had several rooms that were enlarged according to the needs of the household. The façade, where small windows were located, was reinforced with buttresses, while the rest of the house could be varnished with insulating and waterproof materials. The kitchen had a large chimney to ventilate the entire architectural framework.

The post Plan of a cave-house in Balazote (Albacete) in the middle of the 18th century first appeared on History Lab.

Surroundings of a farmhouse in the mid-18th century. Lezuza (Albacete)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:09 +0000

During the Modern Age, it was common for large landowners to have farmhouses to carry out agricultural or livestock work. These were distributed around population centres, in the countryside and, if possible, near a river or stream. The constructive complexes were constituted as independent labour cells scattered around the territory, with bedrooms, kitchen, pantry, storage of grain, animals and farm implements. Architecturally, the composition consisted of a central courtyard surrounded by rooms for work and for storing livestock, such as corrals and stables. This courtyard had a direct exit to the outside without the need to pass through the rest of the house. The residential rooms were divided: while the owners occupied the main house, usually in the front area, in front of the courtyard, the workers occupied secondary rooms and independent outbuildings. The kitchen was large enough to bring the workers together. Finally, the building materials used were intended to ensure thermal insulation and waterproofing.

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The post Surroundings of a farmhouse in the mid-18th century. Lezuza (Albacete) first appeared on History Lab.

House with tiled roof in eastern La Mancha in 1761

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:09 +0000

The form, structure and materials of dwellings in inland Spain in the mid-18th century were conditioned by the quality that their tenants could afford. Of the various architectural typologies, the tejavana house was the simplest, what did it consist of? It was a single-storey dwelling without a chamber, covered with a single tile or some other impermeable material. Within its interior structure it could have numerous rooms. Such was the case of Josefa Soriano, widow of Joaquín de Motos from the town of Munera (Albacete). This house had several outbuildings and a corral where she kept animals for her subsistence. The increase in the standard of living meant that the materials used were better, with masonry walls embedded in the earth. The roof could be tiled or covered with vegetation to allow rainwater to run off, while the interior structure did not use brick, but rather wooden partitions with reed interwoven with a layer of plaster on both sides. Wood was also used for the roof frame, varying between pine, poplar and juniper.

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Plan of a perched house in 1752. Lezuza

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:09 +0000

In the Modern Age, the type and composition of the dwelling was determined by the economic level of the individuals who lived there. Of the diverse typology that existed, the perched houses were the most common in inland Spain. What is a perched house? They are dwellings with a floor or chamber of low height that were accessed by means of a ladder or a masonry staircase. The floor of the house was made of rammed clay soil, although it could also be made of plaster or wood laid on planks. While the ground floor of the house was divided into several rooms or halls, the second floor had no dividing elements and could occupy all or part of the surface area.
The plan shown here corresponds to the house of the wealthy scribe Cristóbal Vázquez of Lezuza, consisting of a doorway, kitchen, two perched rooms, a hanging, a tack room and a corral. In this case, the first floor is located above the ground floor sections of the rooms and the doorway. The second part of the dwelling, the corral and stables, had its own exit to the outside through a gate to facilitate communication.

The post Plan of a perched house in 1752. Lezuza first appeared on History Lab.

Volumetric plan of a farmhouse in Lezuza (Albacete) in the mid-18th century

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:09 +0000

During the Modern Age, houses were not only found within cities, towns or villages; they could also be located away from population centres, surrounded by land for cultivation or livestock farming. These are the farmhouses. These integrated residential and economic functions of the primary sector into their structure. The spatial and functional organisation of their construction is conditioned by their purpose, although it was common for them to be built around a central courtyard with an independent exit. Surrounding the courtyard would be the areas where animals or farm implements were kept, while the residential rooms would be located in the main façade area.
The volumetric plan shown here corresponds to the Casa Cucharro, located in the municipality of Lezuza (Albacete). It is a complex made up of several dwellings and courtyards. The main dwelling corresponds to the owners, while the adjoining ones are reserved for the workers. The courtyard was used for economic work, and is surrounded by hutches for sheltering the animals at night. The building complex is crowned by a chamber used as a storehouse for grain, harvesting tools and other items of little daily use.

The post Volumetric plan of a farmhouse in Lezuza (Albacete) in the mid-18th century first appeared on History Lab.

Cervantes and 17th century Madrid

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:27:35 +0000

Interactive viewer which, based on Pedro Texeira’s map of 1656 – the most detailed, meticulous and extensive of its time – allows you to explore the Madrid of the 17th century, where Miguel de Cervantes and other characters of the Golden Age lived. It is a map with different layers of information superimposed on the current map of Madrid, with different options (white background, street map, image), with the possibility of marking areas and points of interest, obtaining images or locating the houses of characters of the period (Cervantes, Velázquez, Lope de Vega, Góngora, Calderón de la Barca, Quevedo, Tirso de Molina…). Also parishes, convents, hospitals, fountains, parks, streets, squares, orchards and landscapes, city gates, the Royal Palace and other buildings of the nobility (Duke of Osuna, Maqueda, Pastrana…), among other information. By clicking on it, for each of the points indicated, a brief description of the place, the building, the spot, the personage, etc. is given, as well as a list of the references or bibliography from which this information has been obtained.

The post Cervantes and 17th century Madrid first appeared on History Lab.