Justo Antonio de Olaguibel was a Spanish architect born in

Vitoria Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória (b ...

on 7 August 1752. He died in Vitoria on 11 February 1818. Olaguibel was one of the most important neoclassic architects in the Basque Country. The architect studied in the ''Image School'' in Vitoria and in ''Royal San Fernando Academy'' of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

(in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Academia Real San Fernando). He designed many landmarks of Vitoria, such as ''Los Arquillos'' or the ''Plaza España'' of Vitoria. He also designed two roads: the one which connected Vitoria with La Guardia and the road that connected Briñas and Amurrio, in 1792 and in 1793.

Biography

Early life

The Olaguibel family was originally from

Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...

. However, in the XVIII the family was already located in Vitoria and it was related to the field of construction. Justo Antonio's father, who was a master builder, took a lot of care of his son's career, so he signed his son up at an early age in the ''Drawing School'' of Vitoria, which was dependent of the ''Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País''. The father's aim was his son to be educated following the academic methods of that period. As a student, Olaguibel stood out among the other pupils, due to his fast learning. This fact encouraged Olaguibel to apply for a place in the ''Royal San Fernando Academy of

Fine Art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

'', in Madrid, in order to improve his studies in architecture and to achieve the qualification he needed.

Beginning as an architect

In 1781, under mayor Ramón María de Urbina, Olaguíbel was offered to design the '' Plaza Nueva'' (currently known as ''Plaza de España''), the first neoclassic square in Vitoria. It served as a model for the main squares in Tudela, San Sebastian and

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. This square became the centre of urban activity of Vitoria. Nevertheless, the square was not yet connected to the ancient part of the city, because of the slope between them. Therefore, Olaguibel designed ''Los Arquillos'' in 1790, which was a solution to the problem, as it connected the square with the old part of Vitoria harmoniously. Between the two parts are balconies and platforms connected by stairs. The purpose of the architect was to join the old and new parts of Vitoria in a fluent way. These two works made Olaguibel famous, not only because of adding the first neoclassic buildings to Vitoria, but also to the Basque Country.

Religious architecture

After having creating these two works and specially after 1794, Olaguibel directed his career towards religious creations such as arcades, towers and other smaller constructions, which took part in many villages in the prairie of Alava. His career seemed to be prospering, but this change in the architect's mind made other architects from Vitoria and from other cities to take part in the construction of buildings in the city. Justo Antonio de Olaguibel never had a government job, despite the high social class of his job. However, he was related to some personalities of the epoch, such as Samaniego. Olaguibel spent most of his effort building the facade of the ''Magdalena Convent'' (Spanish: ''Convento de Magdalena'') in 1783. The convent was located where the ''New Cathedral'' of Vitoria is now sited. Nevertheless, they managed not to demolish the building and the facade was transferred to ''Vicente Goikoetxea'' street. Fausto Iñiguez de Betolaza was the one in charge of the move.

Last years of life

In 1789 the architect built the San Andrés church in

Elciego Elciego ( eu, Eltziego) is a town and municipality located at the southern end of the province of Álava, in the Basque Country, northern Spain. This town lies in the world-famous Rioja wine-production region, and is home to the architecturally ...

, showing his perfect architecture and how expert he was in his job. In 1806, before 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 ...

Olaguibel designed the house of the bishop Juan Joé Díaz de Espada in

Armentia Armentia is one of the villages associated with Vitoria-Gasteiz. Its name comes from the Latin word ''armentum,'' which translated into English means "intensive farming". The village is well known for its 161 ha park created in the 1998. Village ...

. Olaguibel died on the 11th of February, 1818, in Vitoria.

Important buildings

* Plaza España, Vitoria (1781–1791) * Facade of the Magdalena convent, Vitoria (1783) * Tower and arcade from ''Done Bikendi'' church in Arriaga, Vitoria (1787) * Town Hall,

Orendain Orendain ( es, Orendáin) is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. References External links Official WebsiteInformation available in Spanish and Basque. ORENDAIN in the Ber ...

(1787) * San Andres Church,

(1789) * Town Hall,

Leintz Gatzaga Leintz Gatzaga (Spanish, ''Salinas de Léniz'') is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain. The municipality's population is 251 (2015). Etymology The first part of the name, Lei ...

(1789) * ''Los Arquillos'', Vitoria (1790) * Public fountain, Haro * Arcade of the church, Aberasturi (1801) * House of bishop ''José Díaz Espada'',

(1806)

References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20130720120509/http://ehai-cva.com/httpdocs/paginas/fondos/olaguibel.html {{DEFAULTSORT:olaguibel, Justo antonio de 18th-century Spanish architects People from Vitoria-Gasteiz 1752 births 1818 deaths Architects from the Basque Country (autonomous community)