The Episcopal Palace of Astorga (

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Palacio Episcopal de Astorga'') is a building by Catalan architect

Antoni Gaudí Antoni Gaudí i Cornet ( , ; ; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalans, Catalan architect and designer from Spain, widely known as the greatest exponent of Catalan ''Modernisme''. Gaudí's works have a style, with most located in Barc ...

. It was built between 1889 and 1913. Designed in the Catalan

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 cultu ...

style, it is one of only three buildings by Gaudí outside

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

History

When the original Episcopal Palace was destroyed by a fire in the 19th century, Bishop Juan Bautista Grau y Vallespinos of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Astorga The Diocese of Astorga () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church whose seat is in the city of Astorga, in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain.Vicar-General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar ...

in the

Archdiocese of Tarragona The Archdiocese of Tarragona () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Tarragona, part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The archdiocese heads the ecclesiastical province of Tarragon ...

and had inaugurated a church for which the architect had designed the high altar. When Gaudí received the commission, he was still working at the

Palau Güell The Palau Güell (, ) is a mansion designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí for the industrial tycoon Eusebi Güell, and was built between 1886 and 1888. It is situated on the Carrer Nou de la Rambla, in the El Raval neighborhood of Barcelona ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

, and thus he could not move to Astorga to study the terrain and the area of the new construction. He therefore asked the bishop to send him photographs so Gaudí could plan the new project. Gaudí sent back his design, and it was approved in February 1889. The first stone was placed in June the following year. The edifice, built in gray granite from

El Bierzo El Bierzo (; or ''El Bierzu''; ) is a '' comarca'' in the province of León, Spain. Its capital is the town of Ponferrada. Other major towns are Bembibre and Villafranca del Bierzo, the historical capital. The territory of El Bierzo inclu ...

, is in a neo-medieval style harmonizing with its location, including the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

in particular. It does, however, also feature some of the elements typical of the later Gaudí, such as the arches of the entrance with

buttresses A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act a ...

, and the chimneys integrated in the side façades. Gaudí had devised a five-meter tall angel to crown the façade, but it was never mounted. The façade has four cylindrical towers and is surrounded by a ditch. In 1893, after the death of Bishop Grau, Gaudí resigned over disagreements with the council, halting the construction for several years. The palace was completed between 1907 and 1915 by Ricardo Garcia Guereta. During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, the building served as the local headquarters of the

Falange Falange () is the name of a political party whose ideology is Falangism. Falange primarily refers to: * Falange Española, a Spanish political party active 1933–1934, it merged with the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista (JONS) * Falange ...

. In 1956 Julià Castelltort, a Catalan, began restoration works to adapt the building as a bishop's residence. Later, Bishop Marcelo González Martín promoted the conversion to the current role of the palace, a museum of religious art called ''Museo de los Caminos'', dedicated to the

Way of Santiago The Camino de Santiago (, ; ), or the Way of St. James in English, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the Twelve Apostles, apostle James, son of Zebedee, James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Gal ...

Sources

* {{Coord, 42.4578, -6.0560, type:landmark_region:ES, display=title Religious buildings and structures completed in 1913 Buildings and structures in the Province of León Episcopal palaces Museums in Castile and León Antoni Gaudí buildings Gothic Revival architecture in Spain Religious museums in Spain 1913 establishments in Spain Modernisme architecture Art Nouveau houses Astorga, Spain

History

See also

Sources