Santiago de Compostela

What to do on an acre (6)
Two euro- acres: upper image, Plaza de Platerías (A) and Plaza de la Quintana (B), lower image the New national Gallery in Berlin, close to the Sankt Matthaus church (C) and by the Postdamer Strasse (D)

Two euro- acres: upper image, Plaza de Platerías (A) and Plaza de la Quintana (B) in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and lower image the New national Gallery in Berlin, close to the Sankt Matthaus church (C) and by the Postdamer Strasse (D)

An acre can be an opened or a close surface, or something in between. The squares around the eastern flank of the Cathedral of Santiago are the result of a set of circunstances: a complex natural slope, the previous presence of a cemetery, the presence of monastic buildings… This makes for a set of spaces enclosed by strong institutions, which have grown in power throught time with a magnificent architecture, whose expresion has sometimes been baroque, and in other moments quite austere, with new proposals in the interiors like the fine project by BMJ for Casa da Conga.

Plaza de la Quintana from the North

Plaza de la Quintana from the North

In Berlin, on the other side, the combined surface of both Spanish squares is covered by … well, a square slab, supported on eight steel columns (the building has a larger basement, but it is scarcely visible from the outside, its presence resting on the upper part). The building, by the great master Mies Van der Rohe, is a space whose enclosure is defined first by the large slab itself, and also by a glass curtain on an inner position. There are no obstacles to view the outside and, for instance, Sankt Matthaus church, the Philarmonie or the Sony Plaza. When I visited the Galerie in 2011, it was empty but for a large cylindrical installation. The building is elegant in proportions, but so nude of ornament that any rust mark or any reminder of the complexity of reality is simply too apparent. Opose that to the Santiago squares, all with a granite which has suffered the passage of time. As in the case of the large ships carrying oil derricks, this a matter of a play of spaces and scale relations, in each case with a different result.

The Berlin Galerie as seen from Postdamer Strasse

The Berlin Galerie as seen from Postdamer Strasse

Platerías looking to the North

Platerías looking to the North

The Sankt Matthaus Church as seen from the Galerie

The Sankt Matthaus Church as seen from the Galerie

The outer skin of the Galerie. A clean architecture, with a slender yet imposing column... accompanied by an ashtray/bin (thank god, at least black)

The outer skin of the Galerie. A clean architecture, with a slender yet imposing column… accompanied by an ashtray/bin (thank god, at least black)

The northern part of Quintana

The northern part of Quintana

Your empty space to play with

Your empty space to play with

A view towards the east from Platerias

A view towards the east from Platerias

Tourism spaces (3f)

The Ciudad de la Cultura in Santiago de Compostela has been affected by spiraling costs, largely beyond initial previsions. Only a part of the project is being built, and the debate focuses now on the mid term sustainability of a complex with high operational costs in a moment of public expenditure restriction.

On the other hand, it is an unusual sculptural object, with some thrilling spaces. And it is indeed a massive public facility whose functional program will probably change over time.

http://www.cidadedacultura.org/

Tourism spaces (3d)

The Ciudad de la Cultura (left) and the old city

Along with the traditional spaces in Santiago de Compostela there is the Ciudad de la Cultura, a new element that in part tries to emulate the tourist success of a similar initiative, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. In 1999 the regional government launches an international architectural competition, won by american Peter Eisenman. The proposed project, on a nearby hill, is disconnected from the continuous urban tissue, and covers an area (677.000 sq m) nearly as large as the whole old city, reproducing partially the original elevation.

Ciudad de la Cultura (left) and Vatican City at the same scale

Tourism spaces (3c)

The Cathedral on the Obradoiro Square

Santiago de Compostela is a municipality (pop 95.000 in 2011) which is the capital of Galicia, the northwestern region of Spain.

The burial site of the apostle Saint James is discovered in the IXth century; according to some legends he came to Spain to spread the gospel, but other sources say that his disciples transported his remains from Palestine to Galicia in a boat. The discovery brings pilgrims, and the sanctuary gains political force and urban size. A large part of Spain is occupied by muslims, as well as Jerusalem, and the rise of a relevant shrine in one of the ends of the known land appears as an opportunity to expand the catholic religion.

Saint Peter in Rome (left) and the Cathedral of Santiago and its urban surroundings

The Cathedral becomes with the time one of the biggest in Europe, although far from the size of Saint Peter in Rome. The firs element is a small chapel. Works for a major temple begin in 1075, and in 1211 a Romanesque cathedral is consecrated, becoming the basis of the present building with some later alterations (mainly the baroque façades).

Obradoiro square from the north

The Cathedral from Azabachería square

Stairs on Quintana square

 

The building sits on a complex ground, with sizeable level changes, and so the Cathedral is surrounded by squares and large stairways. Today it is possible to visit a space that is almost an additional square: the stone roofs of the central building, allowing for good view over the historical center.

View from the stone roofs

The Cathedral and most of the buildings in the old city are in granite; the quite rainy climate and the condition of the stone have it often covered in part by moss, and the effect of pollution is also relevant for conservation. The building is subject to periodical conservation works, and from the 1980s there has been a strong conservation activity in relevant historical buildings and also in more domestic architectures.

Pilgrims mean a communication and innovation current during the middle ages, as well as the emergence of a network of churches and inns in the different parts of the Way of Saint James. The most relevant section is the French Way, that goes through northern Castille, crosses the Pyrenees at Roncesvalles and has in Paris a relevant node, with ramifications towards other parts of Europe.

The Diocese becomes powerful as one of the main actors in the region due to the pilgrim’s gifts, and keeps that power for centuries. The University is established in 1459, being one of the oldest in the world. In the XVIth century a part of the political power is transferred to La Coruña, 60 km to the north. The new quasi-federal regime of today’s Spain means that Santiago becomes the capital of the Galician region in the 1980s, and the old city is inscribed in the World Heritage List in 1985.

Tourism is one of the main sources of revenue in the city, along with its function as regional capital and the University. A part of the tourists still come by the Way of Saint James, be it walking, biking or astride their horses, meaning a low carbon tourism (despite the fact that their trips back home are often in motorized modes). The municipality has less than 10% of the provincial population, but its touristical index (a synthetic indicator calculated by the Anuario Económico de España 2011) shows it concentrates 38% of its tourism activity. There is a wide array of prices and qualities, from the Hostal de los Reyes Católicos as the most emblematic hotel to low cost youth hostels. Tourist arrivals multiply on holy years (those in which the festivity of Saint James is on Sunday).

Some links:

Cathedral: http://www.catedraldesantiago.es

Tourism office: www.santiagoturismo.com/