Cárcel Real (Cádiz)
Encyclopedia
The Cárcel Real is a historical building in Cádiz
, southern Spain
, an example of Neoclassical architecture
.
in Spain. As Spain entered its long economic decline, the more elaborate Baroque was seen as decadent and in poor taste. The cost of construction was 3.5 million Spanish real
es.
Although Benjumeda's plans are dated 1794, they almost certainly were backdated, because he signed with the title "Académico de mérito", which he was not granted until 1807. The city of Cádiz itself is referred to as "Muy Heroica", a title it was conceded in 1816 as a result of the Peninsular War
(Spanish War of Independence).
The building opened for use in 1836, at which time a large portion of it had been completed under the leadership of architect Juan Daura. At that time the last portion, closest to the sea was incomplete; indeed it would not be completed until a rehabilitation in 1990. That last project was directed for the Ministry of Justice by J. Montes Deza, adapting the building for use as a courthouse, and saving it from a state of near-ruin. Following the original plans, he completed the final portion of the building and installed a rectangular attic at the top of the projecting principal façade, with a large shield and two pinnacles on the sides.
The building is two stories high, with a projecting mass at the center of the principal façade. Tuscan
pilasters, of the giant order
(banked on a base), frame the openings. The wide windows of the lower floor have a simple horizontal dustguard, which becomes concave at its lower ends. Over the pilasters is an entablature
, with a frieze
of triglyph
s and, below them, three gutta
e.
The projecting mass at the center of the principal façade has four terraced Tuscan columns, as well as twinned Tuscan pillars at the ends. On the two shorter sides of the projecting mass, over the bays of the lower floor (and delineated by pilasters), are several blind semicircles, over which an oculus
is inscribed. An inscription near the mean entrance reads "Odia el delito, compadece al delincuente" ("Hate the crime, pity the criminal"), a quotation from Concepción Arenal
.
Romero de Torres in his Catálogo Monumental de España - Provincia de Cádiz, considered the building to be "the most architecturally tasteful civil building in Cádiz" and added, "if it were not for the legend already cited ['Hate the crime, pity the criminal'], one could think to have been constructed for a museum or a literary center".
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, southern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, an example of Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
.
History
In 1792, the city of Cádiz decided to replace its inadequate, poorly situated, and poorly constructed prison. The new, larger prison would be in a place with better air. Torcuato Benjumeda, the most representative architect of Cádiz at that time, designed the building. This was at the time neoclassicism was beginning to eclipse Baroque architectureBaroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
in Spain. As Spain entered its long economic decline, the more elaborate Baroque was seen as decadent and in poor taste. The cost of construction was 3.5 million Spanish real
Spanish real
The real was a unit of currency in Spain for several centuries after the mid-14th century, but changed in value relative to other units introduced...
es.
Although Benjumeda's plans are dated 1794, they almost certainly were backdated, because he signed with the title "Académico de mérito", which he was not granted until 1807. The city of Cádiz itself is referred to as "Muy Heroica", a title it was conceded in 1816 as a result of the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
(Spanish War of Independence).
The building opened for use in 1836, at which time a large portion of it had been completed under the leadership of architect Juan Daura. At that time the last portion, closest to the sea was incomplete; indeed it would not be completed until a rehabilitation in 1990. That last project was directed for the Ministry of Justice by J. Montes Deza, adapting the building for use as a courthouse, and saving it from a state of near-ruin. Following the original plans, he completed the final portion of the building and installed a rectangular attic at the top of the projecting principal façade, with a large shield and two pinnacles on the sides.
Description
The building is rectangular, 66.87 metres (219.4 ft) by 33.45 metres (109.7 ft) in size, and perfectly symmetrical in the Neoclassical style. It is organized around a square central courtyard and two smaller rectangular courtyards, which are located to the sides. The cells and other facilities are distributed around these.The building is two stories high, with a projecting mass at the center of the principal façade. Tuscan
Tuscan order
Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...
pilasters, of the giant order
Giant order
In Classical architecture, a giant order is an order whose columns or pilasters span two stories...
(banked on a base), frame the openings. The wide windows of the lower floor have a simple horizontal dustguard, which becomes concave at its lower ends. Over the pilasters is an entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
, with a frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
of triglyph
Triglyph
Triglyph is an architectural term for the vertically channeled tablets of the Doric frieze, so called because of the angular channels in them, two perfect and one divided, the two chamfered angles or hemiglyphs being reckoned as one. The square recessed spaces between the triglyphs on a Doric...
s and, below them, three gutta
Gutta
A gutta is a small water-repelling, cone-shaped projection used in the architrave of the Doric order in classical architecture. At the top of the architrave blocks, a row of six guttae below the narrow projection of the taenia and cymatium formed an element called a regula...
e.
The projecting mass at the center of the principal façade has four terraced Tuscan columns, as well as twinned Tuscan pillars at the ends. On the two shorter sides of the projecting mass, over the bays of the lower floor (and delineated by pilasters), are several blind semicircles, over which an oculus
Oculus
An Oculus, circular window, or rain-hole is a feature of Classical architecture since the 16th century. They are often denoted by their French name, oeil de boeuf, or "bull's-eye". Such circular or oval windows express the presence of a mezzanine on a building's façade without competing for...
is inscribed. An inscription near the mean entrance reads "Odia el delito, compadece al delincuente" ("Hate the crime, pity the criminal"), a quotation from Concepción Arenal
Concepción Arenal
Concepción Arenal was a Spanish feminist writer and activist.Born in Ferrol, Galicia, she excelled in literature and was the first woman to attend university in Spain...
.
Romero de Torres in his Catálogo Monumental de España - Provincia de Cádiz, considered the building to be "the most architecturally tasteful civil building in Cádiz" and added, "if it were not for the legend already cited ['Hate the crime, pity the criminal'], one could think to have been constructed for a museum or a literary center".