Culture of Spain - Architecture

Architecture

During the Prehistoric period, the megalithic Iberian and Celtic architectures developed. Through the Roman period, both urban development (ex. the Emerita Augusta) and construction projects (ex. the Aqueduct of Segovia) flourished. After the pre-Romanesque period, in the architecture of Al-Andalus, important contributions were made by the Caliphate of Córdoba (the Great Mosque of Córdoba), the Taifas (Aljafería, in Zaragoza), the Almoravids and Almohads (La Giralda, Seville), and the Nasrid of the Kingdom of Granada (Alhambra, Generalife).

Spanish architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture. The principal Islamic architectural types are the mosque, the tomb, the palace and the fort. From these four types, the vocabulary of Islamic architecture is derived and used for buildings of lesser importance such as public baths, fountains, and domestic architecture.

Islamic art prohibited the painting of people or figures, so beautiful designs and floral patterns covered every wall of important buildings. Art was very important in Spain at that time. The three main religions in Spain then were Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. The places of worship involved all three different aspects.

Later, several currents appear: the Mudéjar Style (ex. the Alcázar of Seville), the Romanesque period (ex. the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela), the Gothic period (ex. the Cathedrals of Burgos, León and Toledo), the Renaissance (Palace of Charles V in Granada), the Baroque period (Granada Cathedral), the Spanish colonial architecture, and Neoclassical style (ex. the Museo del Prado) are the most significant. In the 19th century eclecticism and regionalism, the Neo-Mudéjar style and glass architecture bloom. In the 20th century, the Catalan Modernisme (ex. La Sagrada Família by Gaudí), modernist architecture, and contemporary architecture germinated.