Castle of Matrera

Castle of Matrera (Spanish: Castillo de Matrera or Torre Matrera) is a medieval castle at Villamartín near Prado del Rey in Spain dating back to the 9th century. It was declared a national monument in 1949[1] and an example of Bien de Interés Cultural ("Heritage of Cultural Interest") in 1985.[2] The structure underwent a controversial restoration in 2015.

Castle of Matrera
Native name
Spanish: Castillo de Matrera
The renovated Castle of Matrera
LocationVillamartín, Spain
Coordinates36.807256°N 5.565622°W / 36.807256; -5.565622
Built9th century
Official nameCastillo de Matrera
TypeNon-movable
CriteriaMonument
Designated1985
Reference no.(R.I.) – 51 – 0008200 – 00000
Castle of Matrera is located in Spain
Castle of Matrera
Location of Castle of Matrera in Spain

History

It was built in the ninth century by Omar ibn Hafsún to defend Iptuci, the most advanced city of the Cora de Ronda. However, Mount Pajarete was a place of human settlement since Antiquity.

In the 13th century, it was conquered by Ferdinand III, who rebuilt it. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the XIV century, it returned to Muslim hands before being definitively reconquered by Alfonso XI in 1341. However, being located in the middle of the Moorish Border, it was besieged by the Muslims of Granada in 1408 and in 1445.

Renovation

By 2010, only a few walls of the castle remained standing,[3] and the ruins were further damaged by rain in 2013.[4] A restoration project was launched in 2010, led by the architect Carlos Quevado, and completed in 2015. Parts of the tower were rebuilt with lime plaster similar to samples found on the site,[3] with large, plain blocks defining the original shape of the castle. Quevado described his aim as being not only to protect the ruin, but to "recover the volume, texture, and tonality that the tower would originally have had", and to differentiate new additions from the original structure.[5]

The renovation received negative reactions from some locals, with Spain's cultural heritage organization Hispania nostra calling the project "absolutely terrible".[4][6] It was praised by the architectural community, and was nominated for the 2016 Architizer A+ Award, in the Architecture Preservation category, winning the public choice vote.[3][7] The Guardian described the design as neo-brutalist, and praised it for restoring "the clout its Moorish creators originally intended".[5]

Conservation

In 2013, a large part of the tower collapsed due to the scarce work of repairing the structural problems detected decades ago.[8]

The subsequent work of preservation in 2016 with the authorization of the Junta de Andalucía was very controversial, receiving both criticism[9] and a nomination to the New York A + Architizer awards,[10] which ultimately ended up winning in the "Preservation" category.[11]

See also

References
  1. García, Juan. "Castillos de España en CastillosNet". Archived from the original on 30 June 2012.
  2. "La última bóveda del castillo medieval de Villamartín se derrumba". El País. 16 April 2013.
  3. "Carquero Arquitectura restores ancient Matrera Castle". 3 October 2016.
  4. Jones, Sam. "'What the hell have they done?' Spanish castle restoration mocked". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  5. Wainwright, Oliver (10 March 2016). "Spain's concrete castle: a case of accidental genius?". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  6. Krishna, Rachael. "This Is A Perfect Example of How Not To Restore An Old Castle". buzzfeed.com. Buzzfeed. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  7. "2016 Winners – Architizer A+ Awards". Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  8. Jerez, Diario de. "El emblema de Villamartín se derrumba".
  9. "Polémica por la restauración del Castillo de Matrera en Cádiz". El País. 11 March 2016.
  10. Cádiz, Efe. "La restauración del castillo de Matrera, finalista en unos premios de arquitectura". heraldo.es.
  11. 20Minutos. "La polémica restauración del castillo de Matrera gana el premio de arquitectura Architizer".
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