Casa montañesa is a form of traditional construction of La Montaña in the communities of

Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...

, east of

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

and northern

Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...

in northern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It should not be confused with casona montañesa, which differs due to its grander style and incorporation of other features. This housing style developed from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries and becoming widely seen by the end of the nineteenth century, when it was popularized by the Spanish architect Leonardo Rucabado. It was widely seen across Cantabria.

Features

This type of traditional country house is the most characteristic of Cantabria. It highlights the south façade, open to the sun, with the other walls made of thick rough

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

. The corners are usually of

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

s with re-enclosure at all the spans. The entrance is through a gate of one or two arcs, sufficient to allow passage of a cart into an entryway, leading to the kitchen (although in some houses the kitchen is on the upper level), stables, wine cellar, pantry and stairs to the upper floor. In some areas, there are passageways to enter the upper floor from the outside. The upper floor contains the bedrooms, two of which face the balcony. The interior walls originally are usually made of wood, although in recent times have been replaced by brick. The sun area is the most typical element of this construction. It is a

balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...

run with wood

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 fil ...

protected from wind and rain by the overhanging roof and the projecting sidewalls. The walls are usually topped by wooden trim pieces rough but of classic profiles, serving to support beams of the edge as securing the

canes Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick, or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking *Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance *White cane, a mobility or safety device used by blind or visually imp ...

that form the overhang. The wood is usually painted dark brown.

References

Bibliography

* Leopoldo Torres Balbás, ''The common houses of Spain'', Madrid 1946 * E. Ortiz de la Torre, ''Artistic La Montaña'' Santander 1929 * Fernando García Mercadal, ''The common house in Spain'', Espasa Calpe, 1930 * José Luis García Grinda, ''Popular architecture of Burgos'', 1988

External links

Houses In Spain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casa montanesa House types Housing in Spain Vernacular architecture Construction in Europe