Castles in Spain

When the Arabs invaded Spain in 711, they drove the Christian forces north to the mountainous region of Asturias. The Spaniards built so many castles In this frontier territory that the region came to be known as Castilla.When the Christian kings and nobles began to push southward again, they took over castles built by the Moors or built additional castles, always in defensible positions such as the castles in Salobreña and Lanjarron, both near to Los Piedaos.

At one time more than 10,000 castles were recorded in Spain. Today the list extends to around the 2,500 mark. Spanish castle architecture was influenced by Islamic designs, and such features as decorative masonry and elaborate battlements give many Spanish castles their characteristically romantic and eastern appearance.

Wonderful romantic castle near Cordoba, a couple of hours drive away from Orgiva.

One of the best preserved castles in Spain and open to the public is the castle of Almodóvar del Rio, in Cordoba province. It was built by the Moors in 740 on the top of a 333-foot (100.6 m) rocky hill. Captured by Ferdinand III of Castilla (r. 1217-1252) in the thirteenth century after a four-year siege, the castle later fell into ruins and was restored at the beginning of the twentieth century. It can be visited in a day from Los Piedaos.

A dream castle in Andalucia

A fascinating story by David Wyn originally appeared in issue 62 of the the Olive Press, about the castle at Vélez Blanco which lies just off the A92 between Granada and Puerto Lumbreras. An ornamental patio that once formed the centerpiece of the castle is to be recreated in its entirety thanks to a painstaking 3D scan that has been made of the original, which currently resides at New York's Metropolitan Museum.

Junta de Andalucía culture minister Rosa Torres said the restoration of the patio would rectify "one of the most shameful incidents in Almería's history." The story of how several tonnes of Andalusian ornamental patio, complete with lintels, balustrades, cornices, gargoyles and decorative windows, managed to end up in a North American museum is an interesting one. In 1904, the dukes of Medina Sidonia, who at that time were owners of the castle, decided to sell off what was left of the furniture and decoration. Although most of these items represented irreplaceable examples of Andalusian craft dating back several centuries, everything was sold to the highest bidder.

The castle patio

The jewel in the castle's crown was an ornamental patio made from marble from the nearby village of Macael and decorated with intricate reliefs. This was sold, among other things, to a French art dealer for 80,000 pesetas. The Frenchman made a very good investment; historians estimate that with the sale of a single door he made back his initial outlay. The patio was broken down into 2,000 separate pieces and transported by mule from Vélez Blanco to the port of Cartagena - no mean feat when you take into consideration the patio measures 17x12x9 metres. From there it was moved on to the merchant's home in Marseille. The patio was sold again in 1913 to an American, George Blumenthal, who took it to his home in New York. When Mr Blumethal died in 1954 he bequeathed the patio to the New York Metropolitan Museum where it remains to this day.

The Vélez Blanco castle was purchased by the Junta in 2005 for three million euros and one of their first decisions was to restore the patio to its former glory. As the Metropolitan Museum showed no signs of wanting to sell the original, it was decided a recreation would have to be made. After all, the raw material, white marble from the quarries in Macael, is still in plentiful supply. To allow a recreation to be made, a detailed 3D scan of the original was first necessary. Alejandro Arjona is director of the company that made the digital scan and he explained the difficulties of the project. He said: "More conventional forms of digital scans were not available to us as white light scans involve spraying the surface with powder and laser scans involve placing stickers, neither of which the museum would allow us to do." Señor Arjona said they used a system which employed a digital tracker with three fixed cameras to give a 3D image and did not involve touching the surface at all. He said the work took five weeks, working 12 hours a day under the strict vigilance of security guards from the museum. With the three dimensional image now in the bag, the Junta is currently trying to locate the requisite craftspeople needed to recreate the patio's intricate carvings and decorations. Señora Torres said: "The patio is the heart of the castle and its sale was shameful. This recreation will help return the castle to those it really belongs to - the people of Almería."

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