Castillo de Vélez-Blanco is a remarkable example of

Spanish Renaissance The Spanish Renaissance was a movement in Spain, emerging from the Italian Renaissance in Italy during the 14th century, that spread to Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries. This new focus in art, literature, quotes and science inspired b ...

Castle. It is located in the town of

Vélez-Blanco Vélez-Blanco is a municipality of Almería province, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain.- - In 2018, the population was 1,938. Its surface area is with a population density of . Its geographical co-ordinates are 37° 41'N 2° 05' ...

province of Almería Almería (, also , ) is a province of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It is bordered by the provinces of Granada, Murcia, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is the homonymous city of Almería. Almería has an area of . With 701, ...

, in the autonomous community of

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

, Spain.

History

It was built by Pedro Fajardo y Chacón after being ranked as I Marquis of Los Vélez by the

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bot ...

after the

Granada War The Granada War ( es, Guerra de Granada) was a series of military campaigns between 1482 and 1491 during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, against the Nasrid dynasty's Emirate of Granada. It e ...

. Works started in 1506 and finished in 1515. It has works by florentian Jacopo Florentino and Martín Milanés, who worked also in the

Royal Chapel of Granada The Royal Chapel of Granada ( es, Capilla Real de Granada) is an Isabelline style building, constructed between 1505 and 1517, and originally integrated in the complex of the neighbouring Granada Cathedral. It is the burial place of the Spanish m ...

. The castle was built on the foundings of a previous

moorish castle The Moorish Castle is the name given to a medieval fortification in Gibraltar comprising various buildings, gates, and fortified walls, with the dominant features being the Tower of Homage and the Gate House. Part of the castle itself also house ...

set on a hill overlooking the town and only the

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

and some of the castle walls were used for the new castle. Works started in late Gothic style, soon moving to early Renaissance and although its outside resembles a castle it was built as a refined palace in the inside. Its most remarkable feature is the

patio A patio (, from es, patio ; "courtyard", "forecourt", "yard", "little garden") is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a structure and is typically paved. In Australia the term is expanded to include roofed stru ...

, preserved in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

. It influenced also the near La Calahorra Castle

build by Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar y Mendoza, 1st Marquis of Cenete and now both patios are considered the best early Renaissance examples in Spain. Today, its Torre del Homenaje

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

is an outstanding feature, over high, an emblematic element of the castle and a symbol of the power over the wealthy aristocrat's estate. The stone structure, had wooden stairs, which could be removed in case of danger isolating the upper level as a last defense. There is a vast number of decorative elements topping its battlements. In 1764 the Marquis of Los Velez donated a

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

for the church bells. The property was ever since neglected, during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

the rich interior was the subject of

looting Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

and during the 19th century the Patio was used to store

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

and

reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * ...

, as found in a document kept in the library. In 1931 it was listed as a Spanish

Bien de Interés Cultural A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" ("goods" in the economic sense) and inclu ...

monument. The building has been restored in stages during the second half of the 20th century, including the floors of the towers. In the early 20th century its valuables were sold by its owners mainly to french antique dealers. Since 1945 the

marble

and

artesonado Artesonado or Spanish ceiling is a term for coffer "a type of intricately joined wooden ceiling in which supplementary laths are interlaced into the rafters supporting the roof to form decorative geometric patterns", found in Spanish architecture. I ...

s or Spanish ceilings are held by the

Metropolitan Museum of New York The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the List of largest art museums, largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. ...

after being bequested by banker George Blumenthal to the museum. In 2019 the

Spanish National Research Council The Spanish National Research Council ( es, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Its main objective is to develop and promote res ...

found that one of Blumenthal's Spanish Ceilings is now owned by the country of México and is in the Instituto Cultural Helénico of

México City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

. Its

Labours of Hercules The Labours of Hercules or Labours of Heracles ( grc-gre, οἱ Ἡρακλέους ἆθλοι, ) are a series of episodes concerning a penance carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later romanised as ...

and Thriumphs of Caesar friezes were found in 1992 in the basement of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs of Paris, where they are now exhibited.

References

* El Renacimiento en Andalucía. Jornadas Europeas de Patrimonio (2006). Editado por la Consejería de Cultura de la Junta de Andalucía.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo de Velez-Blanco Castles in Andalusia Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Almería 16th-century establishments in Spain