Steve Chambers, AIA: Living with Medieval Catalan Architecture
Wall and defensive tower of medieval village of UllastretWe promised a daily blog, yet after being in Spain for seven days, we've managed only one. The region near Barcelona, requires some acclimation. While the Catalans are a part of the total Spanish identity, the area seems like a separate country in its culture, language, food and climate. After a day and a half in the city of Barcelona, we meet up with our group of twelve from Texas and shuttle to the medieval village of Ullastret, a two-hour drive northeast of Barcelona. An Ullastret castle (circa 1150) is our base for eight days. Our group has the medieval home to ourselves equipped with a chef named Ramurnes and Panchita, his toy dog who sports a glittery pink bow forming a palm tree at the top of her head. Ullstret is the name of both a charming village and the fascinating archeological site, Puig de Sant Andreu, the largest Iberian settlement in Catalonia for which it is famous. The settlement is set on a lush hillsid
Front facade of medieval Romanesque-style church (ca 1100) in Ullastrete was inhabited continuously from 7BC until its mysterious abandonment in the late 17th century. It has been carefully excavated to reveal Cyclopean (pre-Iberian) foundations and the remains of houses, cisterns and drains to carry rainwater from rooftops into stone tanks. The main square resembles those of certain Greek settlements. Here you can see the impact of the Greeks on Iberian culture.
The Catalan empire stretched from a vast portion of the southeastern part of Spain into Provence, most of the islands in the Mediterranean, the southern half of present-day Italy, into Greece and Turkey. The predecessors of the Catalans, the Iberians, were probably migrating tribes who arrived on the peninsula between 3000 and 2000 BC. Some historians now propose that the Iberians may have been descendants of the Neolithic and early Bronze Age people who earlier inhabited the coastal regions of Iberia. Their life was most certainly modified by the Greeks, and later, the Romans. What we can deduce about the Iberians is that they showed a preference for urban life and were a remarkably cultured and artistic people who liked to adorn their sculptures and vases with animals, flowers and natural objects, motifs we readily observe in the work of Dali and Gaudi (to be discussed in a later blog). In the museum above the archeological site are pieces of pottery with human figures dancing or playing musical instruments or bearing arms, many with marked Hellenistic characteristics. There are numerous inscriptions on pottery, lead plates, stones and coins. The script is not Iberian, but taken from Greek or Phoenician lettering, yet to be deciphered.
Catalan gardener tending brussel sprouts in UllastretA mile and a half from the archeological site, is the current day village of Ullastret, where our castle is located. Ullastret is a medieval precinct surrounded by three distinct lines of defensive walls. In the NW corner tower of the main square is a dungeon. A medieval Romanesque-style church and monastery (circa 1100) at the top of the hill ring bells hourly during the day. In a short week, our group finds ourselves at home in this medieval castle.
Pictured below: the archeological site of the early Catalans, our castle with a glass-covered well in the kitchen, Panchita, and Ullastret street scenes.
About Steve Chambers
Steve Chambers AIA, Residential Architects, Dallas TX. Steve is a Residential Architect and a licensed interior designer. He achieves unique styles by enquiring into what his clients think would be their ideal home and building a home that meets their stylistic aspirations while centering the design of their home around their daily habits.
Visit his portfolio or contact Public Relations Director, Stephanie Chambers.
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