Spanish architecture

The architecture of Spain has been influenced by both European classical and Islamic traditions.

early Christian (5th–8th centuries) The Visigoths invaded Spain 415 and were later converted to Christianity. Their small churches, few of which remain, are indebted to Roman architecture and have parallels with the early French Romanesque style. Fine examples are San Juan de Banos 661 and San Pedro de Nave about 7th century.

Muslim (8th–15th centuries) The Muslims invaded in 711, quickly capturing most of the country. In Córdoba, the Great Mosque, a huge rectangular hall with a proliferation of columns, was begun in 786 and worked on over the next 200 years. Elsewhere in Muslim-occupied Spain architecture developed in unique response to its environment, characterized by a particularly delicate decorative style. In the fortified palaces of the Alcázar, Seville, 1350–69, and the Alhambra, Granada, built mainly 1248–1354, a vocabulary of water gardens, courtyards, colourful tilework, and elaborate stalactite decoration is used.

Romanesque (11th–12th centuries) Romanesque church building began in Cataluña from the 11th century and developed along the pilgrimage routes from France. The cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (begun about 1075) is a fine example, with its barrel-vaulted roof and huge, sculpted Pórtico de la Gloria.

Gothic (13th–16th centuries) In the 12th century, the Cistercian order brought the Gothic style to Spain and by the following century the style of northern French Gothic cathedrals had been adopted, as in Burgos Cathedral (begun 1221). The Catalan version of Gothic proved the most distinctive, introducing a high wide nave, as at Sta Maria, Barcelona (begun 1298). Later cathedrals, such as that in Seville (begun 1402), show German influence in their use of rib-vaulting but this is tempered by unique ground plans owing much to Islamic mosque architecture.

Renaissance (16th century) The Italian Renaissance reached Spain in the 16th century. The finest example of the High Renaissance is the Escorial (begun 1563), the huge palace, monastery, and church built for Phillip II, largely designed by Juan de Herrera (1530–1597). This structure is more severe than most other Spanish Renaissance architecture, which is characterized by richly decorative work in a style known as Plateresque, as in the facade of Salamanca University (1514).

baroque (17th–18th centuries) An interest in surface decoration, reflecting the Muslim past, re-emerged in the late-17th-century Spanish variation of baroque, Churrigueresque, of which the west front of the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (begun 1738), is a fine example. José Benito de Churriguera and Narciso Tomè (active 1715–1742) were both active in this style.

neoclassicism (18th century) In the latter part of the 18th century a severe neoclassicism was developed in such works as the portico of Pamplona Cathedral (1783) by Ventura Rodríguez (1717–1783).

art nouveau (late 19th–early 20th century) The industrialization of Catalan provided Spain with a distinctive late-19th-century architecture, a variation of art nouveau known as modernismo. Connected in part to a growth in Catalan nationalism, it is best represented in the works of Lluis Doménech i Montaner (1850–1923), who built the Palau de la Música Catalana 1905–08, and of Antonio Gaudí, who designed the Church of the Holy Family (begun 1883) and the Casa Milá (1905–10), both in Barcelona.

20th century Under Franco, Spain retreated from its European connections into a provincialism that was echoed in its architecture. Since the restoration of democracy numerous designers of international importance have emerged. Among these are the neoclassicist Ricardo Bofill, now practising largely in France, who built the Antigone development in Montpelier 1992, the architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava, and Rafael Moneo (1937– ), who was the architect responsible for the Museum of Archaeology at Mérida in 1986.