Enrique Nieto y Nieto (October 6, 1880 or 1883 – January 20, 1954) was a

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, Can ...

architect known for his

Modernisme ''Modernisme'' (, Catalan for "modernism"), also known as Catalan modernism and Catalan art nouveau, is the historiographic denomination given to an art and literature movement associated with the search of a new entitlement of Catalan culture ...

style (not to be confused with modernism), which he continued to receive commissions to design even after it fell out of favor. He was a student of Antoni Gaudí and followed his master's style when he designed noted projects in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and

Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...

. In 1939, he was appointed city architect of Melilla, a Spanish enclave in North Africa. Mellila's collection of modernisme-style buildings constitutes the second largest concentration of representatives of the style outside of Barcelona. Plaque accompanying Nieto statue

Places of worship

Nieto designed the main synagogue, Or Zaruah (or Holy Light) synagogue in 1924, the Central Mosque, and several buildings for the Catholic Church in Melilla.

Other buildings

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

was the driving force of Melilla's architecture during the first half of the 20th century. Brought to Melilla by Enrique Nieto, the style is deeply rooted in a city which was overcome with floral ornamentation. From that moment on, Melilla promoted a style that managed to take root and progress, changing all that had been built in the city before. Plants, flowers, animals and women's faces filled the Art Nouveau façades, in which the brown and cream colour ranges brought out the ornaments. Nieto is cited for receiving design inspiration from the noted

Mezquita de Córdoba A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, i ...

(Cordoba mosque). His notable work also includes the La Reconquista and Palacio Municipal (later renamed Autonomous City Palace) in Plaza de Europa. Nieto designed the National Theatre and Cinema building in Melilla in the 1920s which has a more geometrical style than most modernisme designs. He retired in 1949 and died of a heart attack five years later.

Selected works

*C/ García Cabrelles, 1 y 3 (1928) *C/ General Prim, 7, 9, 10, 12, 16, 20 (1909–1910) *Cine Nacional (1929) *Avenida Juan Carlos I, 1 (1915–1916) *Edificio "La Reconquista", Plaza Menéndez Pelayo, s/n (1915) *Edificio "El Acueducto", c/ Reyes Católicos, 2 (1928) *Casa de Tortosa o antiguo Economato Militar (1914) *Casino Militar (1932) *Sinagoga Yamín Benarroch, c/ López Moreno (1924) *C/ López Moreno, 2, 14 y 20 (1924, 1923 y 1928) *Palacio de la Asamblea (1933–1948) *Edificio de "El Telegrama del Rif" (1912) *Cámara de Comercio, c/ Cervantes, 7 (1913) *Mezquita Central (1945) *Avenida de la Democracia, 8 *Mercado del Real (1932) *C/ Cardenal Cisneros, 2 (1935) *C/ Cándido Lobera, 2 y 4 (1933–1935) *Monumento a los Héroes de España (1941)

Gallery

File:EDIFICIO DEL ANTIGÜA REDACCIÓN EL TELEGRAMA DEL RIF.jpg, Antigua redacción de El Telegrama del Rif File:Edificio El Acueducto.jpg, Casa de José García Álvaro (Edificio "El Acueducto") File:CAMARA DE COMERCIO MELILLA.jpg, Cámara Oficial de Comercio, Industria y Navegación File:Mezquita central melilla.jpg, Mezquita Central File:Edificio Avenida de la Democracia 8.jpg, Avenida de la Democracia, 8

Notes

References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20080820204515/http://www.melillamonumental.org/ingles/dos/ingeniero.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20080820023001/http://www.melillaturismo.com/ingles/paseos.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20080820023432/http://www.melillaturismo.com/ingles/modernista.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20110720143000/http://www.oapee.es/documentum/MECPRO/Web/weboapee/pap/comenius/eventos/noviembre07/melilla07informacion.pdf?documentId=0901e72b80004200 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nieto, Enrique 1880s births 1954 deaths Architects from Catalonia Modernisme architects 20th-century Spanish architects