The Historical Beginnings
Neanderthal man is known to have lived on the Rock of Gibraltar, 50,000 years ago. In about 8,000 BC an influx of North African tribes established farming settlements throughout the region, and these people are known today as the Iberians. Andalusia's seaboard was extensively settled by the Phoenicians, who established a chain of trading posts, founding the sea port of Cadiz in 1100BC - which makes its Europe's oldest city - and strongly influencing the way of life of the native Iberians. The Phoenicians were followed by the Celts, who in 800 BC moved south across Europe and into Andalusia. By 700 BC the Tartessus Kingdom was flourishing in Andalusia, and a century later Greek sailors founded trading ports along its shore. By the year 500 BC, the Carthaginians had colonised southern Spain.
|
|
The Romans and the History of Spain
In their struggle against Carthage, the Romans invaded the peninsula in 206 BC, crushing the resistance of the native Iberians and soon transforming Andalusia into one of their richest and best organised colonies, which they called Betis, crisscrossing the region with paved roads.
Roman galleys sailed up its main river, now called the Guadalquivir, as far as Cordoba, where they took on board amphorae of olive oil and wine for exportation to Rome. Under the Romans, in the 4th century, Spain became a Christian country, and the Spanish language - perhaps the closest modern tongue to Latin - began to take its current shape.
The Dark Ages in Andalusia and the Moors
After the collapse of the Empire, Andalusia was devastated by successive waves of barbarian tribes coming from northern Europe, with the eventual predomination of the Visigoths.
This warlike people reigned chaotically over the peninsula for almost two centuries, leaving Spain open to the invasion of the Moors - Islamic warriors from Arabia and North Africa - in the year 711, and who called the region al-Andalus because they associated it with the Vandals, one of the barbarian tribes who had, several centuries earlier, swept across the Strait of Gibraltar into North Africa.
The Moors made the region their home for eight centuries and permanently marked it with their cultural legacy, signs of which are still visible in monuments such as the Mosque of Cordoba and the Alhambra Palace in Granada. It was not until the 13th century that the Christian Reconquest reached Andalusia, seizing the cities of Cordoba and Seville.
By the end of the 15th century, the Catholic Monarchs, Isabel of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon, had taken the last stronghold of the Moors, Granada and the Alhambra Palace.
The History of Spain under Christian rule
Andalucia was the launching point for the discovery of America (after the Upper Guadalquivir had silted up, making it impossible to sail as far inland as Cordoba), and Seville became the main port for the imports of gold from the New World during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Much of the wealth from America was spent on the wars waged by Spain's Hapsburg monarchy against the Lutheran countries in northern Europe and the Ottoman Turks in the Mediterranean, and as the flow of riches decreased, Spain and Andalusia sank into economic decline. The region suffered the ravages of the Spanish War of Succession in the early 18th century and, one hundred years later, the Napoleonic invasion and the Battle of Trafalgar, touching off the War of Independence. Andalusia's economy suffered the direct effect of the independence movement in South America during the rest of the 19th century.
Andalusia in the 20th century
The devastating loss of Spain's last colonies, Cuba and the Philippines, led to political instability and further economic decline, culminating in the deposition of the monarchy and the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, in 1936, when the Republic was overthrown by General Franco and his Nationalist movement. Although Spain did not openly take sides in World War II, Franco lent his support to the Axis, as a result of which Spain suffered the disastrous effects of an international blockade after the war. It was not until Franco died, in 1975, that democracy was restored, under the symbolic monarchy of King Juan Carlos II. Spanish government was decentralised and Andalusia became an Autonomous Region in 1982, with its own regional administration, the Junta de Andalusia (Assembly of Andalusia). Since then, Spain, as an active member of the European Union, has experienced a dramatic improvement in the standard of living. The poverty of the Andalusia countryside has been largely eliminated and its people have regained their pride in the local culture, which flourishes alongside the benefits of improved roads, modern health care and high-tech infrastructures. The romantic image of Andalusia, in spite of progress, is still very much a thing of the present.
Architectural Heritage
Although Andalusia's architectural heritage is primarily Muslim, there is impact from a range of different architectural schools, dating back to such significant Roman structures, such as the magnificent amphitheatre at Italica. There are also important Roman ruins at Baelo Claudia and Ronda la Vieja, as well as a necropolis at Carmona. It was also the Romans who introduced the inner patio to the region, which was later adopted by the Muslims and remains one of the most charming architectural features of contemporary Andalusian building design. The Visigoths left little lasting imprint, as most of their churches have been built over. However since ancient time the impact of all the civilisations and cultures has had a definitive impact on both the buildings and urban design of Andalusia.
Muslim Architecture
Although relatively few major Muslim buildings survived the Christian era intact, those that did include some of the world's finest examples of Moorish architecture, including the Alhambra in Granada, the Mezquita in Cordoba and the Giralda minaret in Seville. Muslim architecture in Andalusia falls into two broad periods. First was the caliphate style emanating from Cordoba and brought by the Arabs from the Middle East (the Mezquita in Cordoba is an example of this style), the second period was that of the Maghreb style, developed by Muslims in Morocco and brought to Spain in the 12th century. The Giralda is considered the finest of all Maghreb minarets.
Mudejar
This is a distinctive architectural style, which is a derivative of Muslim architecture developed respectively by Christians in Muslim areas and Muslims in Christian areas. Distinguishing features of Mudejar buildings include extravagantly decorated timber ceilings and use of brick for many churches and mansions.
|
Romanesque
The first major architectural style of Christian Andalusia and there are few buildings remaining which exhibit this distinctive style; one of the few is the Iglesia de la Santa Cruz in Baeza with its distinctive round arches and semicircular apse.
Gothic
Gothic architecture was introduced in Spain from France in the 12th century and was carried to north and west Andalusia with the Reconquista in the 13th century. This was the period of some of the province's most magnificent cathedrals and churches, including the cathedral in Seville. There are dozens of Gothic or part Gothic churches in Andalusia, as well as many town mansions and castles built in this elaborate style.
|
Renaissance
The Renaissance in architecture can be described as an Italian originated return to disciplined ancient Greek and Roman ideals of harmony and proportion with columns and classical shapes like the square, circle and triangle predominating. One of the most distinct features of many Renaissance buildings is an elegant interior courtyard surrounded by two tiers of wide, rounded arcades.
Baroque
Baroque dates back to the late 17th century and reached a peak in the 18th century. Andalusia was one of the places where Baroque blossomed most brilliantly. Baroque was fundamentally classical but crammed a great deal of ornamentation onto the facades. Seville has more baroque churches per square kilometre then any other in the world. Two of the most outstanding are the Iglesia de la Magdalena and the Capilla de San Jose.
Neoclassicism
Throughout Europe, in the mid-18th century, the cleaner, more restrained lines of neoclassicism came into fashion, another return to Greek and Roman ideals in keeping with the Enlightenment philosophy, which prevailed in learned circles.
Information supplied by Andalucia.com
