There are two Spains, at least architecturally, when we talk about towns. one dresses in stone, which we traditionally associate with the northern part of Spain or, at least, with the northern sub-plateau. The other Spain, the southernmost, whitewashes its towns.
An architectural dichotomy that contrasts two very different landscapes and that makes us think that architecture and design have always been like this historically. However, that the buildings of Spain boast of stone It’s by no means a tradition.. It is enough to pull Google and search for historical images of towns and cities to verify that Spain, with its pluses and minuses, dressed in white.
EITHER It wasn’t until just a century ago., year up or year down, when the houses in the north of Spain began to mutate towards the tones of stone to the detriment of white. For example we can still take today in municipalities and towns of the Cantabrian Sea, as happens in places like Cudillero, Comillas or Getxo, where the houses are still whitewashed in many cases.
Inland reality has changed, betting on the stone like visible face of most of the historical constructions in our country. Virtually any inland town will have abandoned the white tones that, however, had been common until the 20th century, when Spain put white aside and returned to stone.
The truth is that, beyond the myth —true— that the white reflect lightwhich is why most of the buildings were whitewashed and this continues to be the case in a good part of Andalusia, perhaps the community where this contrast is most appreciated, Spain dressed its houses with whitewash and did so for various reasons, as described unravel in the thread of Twitter art historian Miguel Angel Cagigal, known as The Baroquer on this social network.
The first is that the stone is a worst insulating material, both cold and heat. For this reason, the houses were whitewashed to improve their thermal insulation. In addition, these lime plasters allowed the stone, more delicate —although it may seem ironic— to suffer less from the inclemencies of humidity, to give an example.
To this we must add the conservation virtues that whitewash allows. Let’s take for example any typical masonry construction in a relatively humid area such as Galicia, even inland. The rain favors the creation of molds, in addition to penetrating between the cracks that separate the ashlars and ashlars, small carved stones that were the usual construction of houses and buildings.
Thanks to the whitewash, the rain did not penetrate these ashlars, nor did the cold – not to the same extent – and also favored defense against intense heat. In addition, it favored that these walls did not wear out in the same way. Something that in the coastal areas they understand very well, since the salinity and humidity of the area also justifies the need to resort to lime as a protective element, preventing excessive erosion from damaging the stone walls.
In fact, the irony is that they were the houses of the humblest people those that traditionally wore exposed stone, since they could not afford to plaster their walls with lime. However, for a few years, the exposed stone has been observed as a sign of economic power.
A reality that also alludes to other construction materials, because even so the stone was more expensive than the houses that were built. built with mud (adobe) and reeds, which was the most affordable in many parts of Spain. For this reason, this type of construction —such as farmhouses and barracks, highly exposed to humidity in the Levante area— had to be plastered white to increase their durability.
For this reason also This technique is known as plastering which is not really endowing a surface with a material—lime, plaster, or stucco—to make it smoother. Something that was even done indoors, since the whitewashing in the rooms also made it possible to reduce domestic humidity, which is associated both with the development of molds and fungi and with respiratory difficulties.
History of urbanism in Spain II: 16th, 17th and 18th centuries: 2 (Art Major themes)
However, the 21st century has ended up thinking that the houses in the north of Spain were always built with exposed stone, while the south dressed in white when the reality is that all of Spain, with certain exceptional buildings, went from immaculate white for conservation reasons.
Heating systems are now cheaper to pay for, or more accessible to most people, and living conditions are better than a hundred years ago, which is why exposed stone, in addition to being considered more elegant, has gradually left white walls aside.
Images | iStock
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