Towards the incorporation of a raised walkway at the Royal Alcázar of Seville: status and execution of the works

• Main Authors: Alberto Atanasio Guisado, Juan Francisco Molina Rozalem
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Associação Profissional de Conservadores - Restauradores de Portugal 2019-01-01
• Series: Conservar Património
• Subjects: Royal Alcázar of Seville; Architectural intervention; Grotto gallery; Cultural Heritage
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.14568/cp2017044

The Milanese architect Vermondo Resta arrived in Seville in the 16th century and soon became the master builder for the Alcázar, in charge of all the construction works undertaken in this royal palace dating from the Middle Ages. One of the challenges he addressed was the transformation of a fragment of the 12th century wall, which had lost its defensive function, into a double-storey gallery with views over the palace gardens. It was called the Galería del Grutesco, or Grotto Gallery. At the beginning of the 21st century arose the opportunity to restore this space to the design that Resta had conceived four centuries earlier. This article discusses the need to undertake this restoration and describes the technical solution that was proposed and recently executed.