Resilience and urban form transformation: from San Fulgencio monastery to market in Écija, Spain

Ostos‑Prietoetal. City, Territory and Architecture (2023) 10:27 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40410‑023‑00209‑1 RESEARCH ARTICLE Resilience andurban form transformation: fromSan Fulgencio monastery tomarket inÉcija, Spain F.‑Javier Ostos‑Prieto1* , José‑Manuel Aladro‑Prieto2 and María‑Teresa Pérez‑Cano1 Abstract The nineteenth century city in Spain is defined by modernisation, transformation and urban renewal. The production of urban plans played an important role in projects for the realignment of streets and the opening of new roads. In addition, new urban facilities were added, such as the bullring or the food market, which had hitherto been lack‑ ing in many cities. In addition, the church confiscations and the decrease of religious orders led to the abandon‑ ment and demolition of many monasteries and convents, which were subsequently used in urban developments. If the new urban facilities were located in the city centre, situated on old monastic plots, is it indeed possible to deter‑ mine the original monastic plot and building through its urban trace? This research focuses on studying the urban morphology and typology transformation derived from the succession of the monastery to a market. The case study is the Jesuit monastery in Écija, which was transformed into a food market in 1844. A methodology based on the anal‑ ysis and comparison of maps and planimetry of the market and the disappeared monastery has been used. In order to find the original monastic plot, an inverted chronological order has been followed. The inaccuracies of the original plans have led to an initial study of the current market, towards the market project and finally the monastery itself, try‑ ing to identify and define the earliest traces. The results include a hypothesis of the original building of the monastery, as well as the identification of monastic areas under residential buildings on plots outside the market. Keywords Food market, Jesuit school, Urban plot changes, Urban transformation Introduction: themodernisation ofthecity The nineteenth century urban planning in Spain was marked by a succession of urban changes and renovations aimed at modernising the inherited city. These transformations ranged from the appearance of a greater urban instrumentation to its integration into the morphology of the city. Throughout history, the actions on the pre-existing city were adapted to it, without implying a transformation as such, but rather a correction (Anguita Cantero 1998). This century was a period of inflection and change not only on a political and social level, but also on an urban level, marking the beginning of the cities as we know them today. The French occupation at the beginning of the century brought important advances in cartography, such as the introduction of the metric system, replacing the Castilian yard, which facilitated urban planning interventions (Martín López 2002). After the French expulsion in 1812, planimetric development was combined with urban planning, which was further supported both at the municipal and state government levels. During the reign of Isabel II, the Royal Order of 25 January 1846 was promulgated, stipulating the obligation to draw up geometric plans of Spanish cities at a scale of 1:1250 with the aim Open Access © The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ licen ses/ by/4. 0/. City, Territory and Architecture *Correspondence: F.‑Javier Ostos‑Prieto [email protected] 1 Urban and Regional Planning Department, School of Architecture, University of Seville, Seville, Spain 2 History, Theory and Architectural Composition Department, School of Architecture, University of Seville, Seville, Spain Page 2 of 16 Ostos‑Prietoetal. City, Territory and Architecture (2023) 10:27 of outlining future urban alterations (Nadal 2017). The lack of urban cartographic documentation of many Spanish cities made it difficult to carry out an adequate urban intervention. Therefore, the main objective of this law was to ensure the drafting of the appropriate urban planning instruments for implementing city modernisations. The confiscations of religious buildings, which began with the French government, continued in the following decades. Liberal political ideals meant that between 1834 and 1855 the confiscations of Madoz and Mendizábal were key factors to the new urban processes. Prior to 1834, the Spanish clergy was very numerous, exceeding the religious needs of the population, due to the fact that the number of 3207 monasteries and convents was reduced to 1057 (Quirós Linares 2009). Four years later, the Royal Order of 22 March 1838 decreed that buildings of the suppressed convents and monasteries became municipal property free of charge for public use (Arenillas Torrejón 1999). During this period confiscations and massive sales of Church properties took place, in favour of the rising bourgeoisie, linked to the city urban developments (Lazo Díaz 1970). Ecclesiastical buildings turned into municipal ownership or public auction. Suddenly, cities had large areas of vacant land in urban centres, which became prey to real estate speculation. In 1833, the Minister of Development, Javier de Burgos proposed the reform and division of the territory into 49 provinces (Orduña Rebollo 2012). The capitals of the new provinces would be the main beneficiaries of the urban modernisation processes thanks to the new location of administrative services in them. In this sense, in a more limited way, this circumstance is also reproduced in the towns that are head of judicial districts (Quirós Linares 2009). In the province of Seville, cities like Écija, Carmona, Osuna, Marchena, among others, which are medium-sized cities, were susceptible to significant urban transformations. The new urban proposals undertaken by the municipal governments will be the road alignment modifications, as well as the opening of new streets and avenues. The abundance of old monastic and convent plots in urban centres, linked to urban renovations, gave rise to distinctive urban facilities such as cementeries, boulevards, bullrings and food markets. Objective andmethodology As a consequence of the urban transformations of the nineteenth century and the disappearance of monasteries, is it indeed possible to determine the original plot and monastic building through its urban trace? Are there still fragments or remains despite its disappearance? The main objective of this research is to identify the original disappeared plot through the urban morphological and typological study of the transformation from monastery to market. The first point of the methodological process of the research is to define the scope of the study in four medium-sized cities in Andalusia with representative urban processes of transformation from monastery to market. Afterwards, the study focuses on the city of Écija, where the old monastery of San Fulgencio and the subsequent market are taken as a case study. Once the case study has been selected, the methodology is based mainly on the study and comparison of both planimetric and cartographic data from different centuries of the monastic plot. For this purpose, a search for original documents was carried out in the Municipal Archive of Écija, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the Urbipac architectural office and the consultation of different bibliographical sources and references. This allowed for the location of the original planimetric documentation of both the market and the monastery for their study and comparison. As an initial hypothesis, it is suggested that the Market may have inherited part of the architectural typology of the monastery, as well as the possible reuse of structural elements such as walls and foundations. Although several sources confirm the location of the monastery, there are few studies on the urban insertion of the building on the site. Therefore, a reverse historical approach, tracing back from the present to the past, is necessary to recognize any potential remnants of the building and the former monastic plot. From themonastic plot tothemarket The Andalusian territory is largely structured by an extensive system of medium-sized cities. The main religious orders such as the Dominicans and Franciscans, after their first foundations in large cities like Seville, Cordoba and Jerez de la Frontera, settled in cities such as Écija, Úbeda, Baeza, Ronda, etc., considered mediumsized cities (Ostos Prieto etal. 2021). Many of these, like Écija, became even more important than some of the current provincial capitals. A total of 21 monasteries and convents can be found in Écija, compared to cities such as Jaén or Cádiz, with 16 or 15 monastic buildings respectively. The number of inhabitants and religious buildings are considered a sign of the economic development of the population. Near to Écija there are three more cities with similar monastic and geographical characteristics, Carmona, Osuna and Marchena (Fig.1). The more monastic buildings there were in a town, the greater the impact of the church confiscations in the nineteenth century. There was a common phenomenon in the aforementioned cities, the conversion of the monastic plot into a food market. This was born as an improvement for the cities because of the unhealthiness produced by open markets, also helping to establish Page 3 of 16 Ostos‑Prietoetal. City, Territory and Architecture (2023) 10:27 greater control over commercial and fiscal activity (Seño Asencio 2013). The market or food market was generally located in the urban centre, constituting a complex in which all basic necessities were located (Collantes de TeránSánchez 1991). The structure of the market in the city sought to follow models such as those of Madrid or Granada, arranged in public spaces with a quadrangular shape, as was done in the Encarnación market in Seville in 1842 (Fernández González 2009). The 1840s was the period when the structures of market appeared in the cities of the Seville territory. In Écija, over the old site of the monastery of San Fulgencio, the market was built in 1844, which was defined as a construction “in the beauty of its form, regularity and conformity to the precepts of art”.1 In 1837, the convent of Santa Catalina in Carmona was confiscated and subsequently transformed into a market (Loza Azuaga 2012). In Osuna, the new market was adapted and integrated into the cloisters of the former monastery of San Francisco in 1869 (Ramírez Olid 1999). In Marchena, José Giraldo commented in 1839 about the market location that: […] the suppressed monastery of Santo Domingo could be suitable for its construction because it is large enough and with the walls its cost is considerably reduced, while leaving intact the main part of the building and its church, which is independent and necessary (Arenillas Torrejón 1999:102). In the four mentioned cities, the occupation of old monastic plots was chosen for their new use as public markets (Table1). When comparing the cities in number Fig. 1 Situation plan of the medium‑sized cities studied in Andalusia, Spain. Own elaboration Table 1 Characteristics of food markets near Écija. Own elaboration. Source: Arenillas Torrejón (1999), Madoz (1847), Loza Azuaga (2012) and García León (1999) City 1860 Inhabitants Building Year Plot surface (m2) Old monastery or convent in the plot Écija 27,216 1844 3248 San Fulgencio Carmona 20,074 1842 3225 Santa Catalina Osuna 17,873 1869 2369 San Francisco Marchena 13,714 1840 3216 Santo Domingo 1 Archivo Municipal de Écija, book 265, f. 116v-117r. Page 4 of 16 Ostos‑Prietoetal. City, Territory and Architecture (2023) 10:27 of inhabitants,2 there is a notable difference. However, despite the population, similar urban processes are taking place, such as the market appearance as a new type of facility. Similar market characteristics are found in the year of construction and the surface area required, approximately 3000 m2. Only the case of Osuna differs, both in date and surface area, because it is the only market to be installed without demolishing the old building. The other building projects opt for the demolition of the religious building. From a comparative analysis, the main similarity can be established in their square geometry, normally with a perimeter gallery open to a central courtyard. The most representative is the one in Carmona, built with a single gallery and without additional constructions in the courtyard. Following the same typological scheme is the Osuna building, but on the cloisters of the Franciscan building. About the two existing cloisters, the stalls are located in the centre of the larger one, while the second one houses a bar and municipal offices (Seño Asencio 2013). The one in Écija choose a maximum use of the perimeter gallery, doubling the number of stalls and adding others inside the courtyard. In fact, this architectural model follows a scheme similar to the market of Fontán in Oviedo, built in the eighteenth century (Quirós Linares 2009). Finally, the Marchena example is currently configured as a building without a courtyard in response to the last intervention carried out in 1930. The courtyard was occupied by new stalls to provide more commercial space (Arenillas Torrejón 1999). Among the four cases described, Écija is the most important city. The large surface occupied by the market together with the construction year, with the 1844 market plan, the 1627 monastery plan and the urban cartographies from nineteenth century, makes it a unique and important case study. The market in Écija (Fig.2) occupies a plot bounded on its southeast and southwest facades by the public space of Compañía Street, whose name continues referring to the original Jesuit school. There are three accesses through this street, the main one being through the door that opens from Compañía Street towards Mas y Prat Street. At the north of the plot there is a secondary access, an extension of the public road that reaches it, Eslava Street. The rest of the plot’s perimeter is surrounded by residential buildings, except for a segment bordering an educational building to the west (the current Astigi public school). The market is inserted by a quadrangular Fig. 2 Situation plan of the food market in Écija in 2021. Own elaboration 2 Historical population data for Andalusia from the Instituto de Estadística y Cartografía de Andalucía. At: https:// www. junta deand alucia. es/ insti tutod eesta disti cayca rtogr afia/ ehpa/ ehpaT ablas. htm (30/06/2022). Page 5 of 16 Ostos‑Prietoetal. City, Territory and Architecture (2023) 10:27 structure with a central courtyard, which is aligned with the south-east front of Compañía Street. The rest of the facades and built elements are adapted trapezoidally to the morphology of the plot. The market consists of an interior courtyard in which a central kiosk-bar is located. Commercial stalls are distributed around the perimeter, some facing the courtyard and others facing the interior corridor, enclosed by a new ring of stalls which in turn form the edge of the building (Figs.9 and 11). Apart from this main structure, the rest of the building pieces are storage and service areas accessed from the aforementioned Eslava Street. Starting from the current situation described above, the original projects for both the market and the Jesuit monastery have been analysed in order to understand the transformation undergone by the urban space and the historical plot. The Jesuit School San Fulgencio As the mendicant orders, the Society of Jesus spread throughout the area of Christian influence. After its arrival in Spain in 1547, it was not until 1554 that Ignatius of Loyola divided it into three Jesuit provinces: Aragon, Toledo and Andalusia (Soto Artudeño 2004). Under the influence of the Andalusian nobility, they settled their first foundation in Cordoba in 1552. This was followed by Seville (1554) and Granada (1555).They would progressively establish themselves in the main Andalusian cities, arriving in Écija in 1573 (Martín de Roa 2005). Once the process of implantation was completed, the Jesuit order came to form a system of more than forty establishments in the Andalusian region, reaching not only the urban but also the rural population. According to its rules, the activity of the Ignatian order was to focus fundamentally on study and teaching, converting its establishments into schools. This is where the importance of this order lies, dedicated to the education of the population in a context where public schools, as we know them today, were non-existent. It was this need for teachers and schools that motivated the installation of the Jesuit Society in Écija. The Jesuit priest Martín de Roa noted about the school in Écija that there were three grammar classes, an art course, another in philosophy and lessons in moral theology (Martín de Roa 2005). Although in 1590 they began teaching, it was not until the transfer of some houses owned by Alonso de Escalera (Martín Pradas & Carrasco Gómez 1999) in the centre of the city that the school of San Fulgencio was established.3 Monastery planimetry Five different building proposals have been located. The fifth plan has been omitted for the analysis, because it is a redistribution of an interior room, which does not provide decisive information for the plot study. Three of the planimetric documents belong to the architects Pedro Sánchez (1569–1633) and Juan de Santibáñez (1582–1649). They are currently in the National Library in Paris,4 while the fourth, anonymous, is in the municipal archive of Écija. Pedro Sánchez was responsible for the dome transept and main chapel of San Pablo in Granada, the novitiate of San Ignacio in Baeza and the build direction of San Hermenegildo School in Seville. He also designed the Jesuit church in Toledo, the plans for the novitiate in Madrid and the Imperial School (Martín Pradas & Carrasco Gómez 1999). Juan de Santibáñez excelled in the work and design of the churches of Guadix and Jerez de la Frontera. Therefore, they were two architects of recognised prestige who designed the project for the new school in Écija. The first plan of the school (Fig.3) is 31 × 52.5cm size, signed by Pedro Sánchez at the lower right, although it lacks a date. However, a letter sent from Rome to Melchor de San Juan priest establishes its reception in Rome on 27th June 1607 (Vallery-Radot 1960). The graphic scale is placed vertically on the left-hand side, measured in 190 Castilian yards.5 Although the orientation is not defined, due to the location of the streets, the north can be located to the right. The access and urban frontage is located along the Compañía Street, plus a smaller access to the north. The building complex is divided into three main areas: school, monastery and services. In the south is the church, the rooms in the western half occupy the school area and those to the east, which are separated by the main staircase, are used for cells and monks residence. The north of the complex is used for service purposes such as kitchens, storerooms and gardens (Fig.7). The second plan belongs to Juan de Santibáñez (Fig.4), signed the 15th September 1627. With similar dimensions to the previous one, 33 × 56.5cm, it has a graphic scale of 180 Castilian yards vertically on the left-hand side. Centred at the top, it is the north symbol. Compared to Sánchez’s plan, there is a general modification and redistribution of the spaces in the upper part of the complex. Greater care can be seen in the graphics, in the projection of the vaulted spaces, and even in the design of the fountains or gardens. At the urban level, the main 3 The name of the school is in honour of San Fulgencio, bishop of Écija. De Santibáñez (1655). 4 The National Library of Paris acquired the plans in 1773, initially kept in Rome. They are part of a five-volume collection entitled Piante di diverse fabbriche. Vallery Radot (1960). 5 The decimal equivalence of the Burgos yard or Castilian yard is 0.835905m according to the Real Orden de 9 de diciembre de 1852. Page 6 of 16 Ostos‑Prietoetal. City, Territory and Architecture (2023) 10:27 Fig. 3 Plan of San Fulgencio school in Écija (© National Library of Paris, Colección del Gabinete de Estampas. Hd‑4c, 150. Architect Pedro Sánchez, made in 1607) Fig. 4 Plan of San Fulgencio school in Écija (© National Library of Paris, Colección del Gabinete de Estampas. Hd‑4c, 146. Architect Juan de Santibáñez, made in 1627) Page 7 of 16 Ostos‑Prietoetal. City, Territory and Architecture (2023) 10:27 difference is the incorporation of the so-called barrera 6 of Don Fernando, in the upper part of the plan. Next to the barrera, there is the opening of a new road, as an extension of the street, which is expressively labelled “calle que se a de abrir, el sitio es nuestro” (street to be opened, the site is ours). The third plan is in the Ecijan archive (Fig.5). Although it is not signed or dated, the lines of the drawing and its geometry are similar to those used by Juan de Santibáñez. It follows the same orientation as the previous ones, as well as the graphic scale in Castilian yards in the same position and place. The dimensions of the document are 32 × 43.8cm. Compared with the 1627 one, changes can be seen, mainly in the configuration of the aforementioned barrera and the service rooms (Fig.7), an area which was probably unfinished. The graphic design of the document shows a lesser degree of completion than the other plans. This is also reflected in the partial shading of walls and sections, which has only been done on the upper left courtyard, leaving the rest uncompleted. The last plan also belongs to Juan de Santibáñez, although it lacks a date (Fig. 6). However, it can be assumed that it belongs to around 1627, the date of the first plan. This one represents a new proposal. The size is 31 × 51cm and with same orientation. The graphic scale is in the same position, being 200 Castilian yards. The situation as the fourth proposal is due to the greater complexity of the interior of the monastery. One of the main modifications is the removal of the barrera in favour of a more elongated one that provides a doorway and facade to the school space. In this new barrera, Santibáñez locates the previous one and layout with a dotted line so as not to lose the reference of the former proposal. In general, the building maintains the earlier organisation of school, monastery and service spaces, although these are arranged differently from the previous plan. The sequence of the four plans (Fig.7) allows us to analyse graphically the different modifications proposed. Fig. 5 Plan of San Fulgencio school in Écija (©City Archive of Écija, 150. Architect Juan de Santibáñez, made in 1627) 6 In Écija the term barrera refers to a small square. http:// ecija histo ria. blogs pot. com/p/ dicci onarioecija no. html (30/06/2022). Page 8 of 16 Ostos‑Prietoetal. City, Territory and Architecture (2023) 10:27 Fig. 6 Plan of San Fulgencio school in Écija. (© National Library of Paris, Colección del Gabinete de Estampas. Hd‑4c, 151. Architect Juan de Santibáñez, made in 1627) Fig. 7 Layout comparison of the floors uses of the San Fulgencio school in Écija. Church and chapel (blue), nuns confessional (purple), school classrooms (green), cells (pink), latrines (brown), refectory (yellow), kitchens and pantry (red), stables (turquoise) and cellar (orange). Own elaboration Page 9 of 16 Ostos‑Prietoetal. City, Territory and Architecture (2023) 10:27 There is a consensus regarding the position of the church and chapel, which is never altered. From there, the different functional areas, classrooms, cells and service rooms, occupy similar sectors within the complex, although with alterations in their specific layout. The main entrances to the monastery and school are from the south and east, respectively. The entrance through Eslava Street, in the north, is reserved for the stables and the service quarters. Linked to this position there is a large space for gardens, differentiated from those located in the more noble parts of the building. Finally, all the analysed plans represent the ground floor of the building. Up to three stairwells have been found in the building, as well as projection lines, which most probably indicate the existence of at least one first floor of which no planimetry has been found. Regarding to the Pedro Sánchez’s plan, the later one show the tower with spiral staircase at the foot of the church that Santibáñez would add. As well as one of the priorities for this author, the opening of the barrera on the side of the schools, as well as a possible new street. This proposal would generate, in addition to the building, new urban spaces. The Jesuit expulsion from Spain was in 1767. A year later, the Augustinians requested permission from the king to move from their monastery to the old school, offering their own for the the crown and committing themselves to continue the opening of the school. However, the proposal was rejected and the property was ceded to the City Council in order to support the teaching purposes. The lack of municipal funds led to the ruin of the building in 1815, being used as a military barracks, remaining unused again two years later (García León 1999). In 1819, the educational use of the old monastery was resumed thanks to the foundation of academies of drawing, mathematics, physics, chemistry, agriculture and logic by the Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País de Écija. The project did not achieve the desired success. In 1824 the building was used as a deposit for municipal goods, while parts of it, such as the church, were leased to private individuals. Finally, in 1842, the town council proceeded to demolish the building and put the site up for auction (García León 1999), which was acquired for the construction of the future food market. The food market ofÉcija The food market is a new architectural typology from the nineteenth century, coinciding with the addition of new infrastructures and urban changes. Until this moment, the traditional market system had been maintained often followed with some improvements, as occurred in the fish market in Castellón, the food market in La Coruña, Jaén or Bilbao (Quirós Linares 2009). The concentration of commercial activity in a building makes it a place of centrality and a new area for the development of social relations. From sixteenth century, Écija had a granary and royal butcher’s shops for the purchase and sale of foodstuffs. The rest of the commercial activity took place in an ephemeral market located in the town’s main square, which lacked regulated sanitary and fiscal standards. With the concentration of all commercial activity in a single building, the use of granaries and open markets would fall into disuse, while at the same time improving fiscal and tax control (Seño Asencio 2013). For its construction, the Sociedad de Fomento was constituted in Écija, organised by José Angulo Lasso de la Vega, Marquis of Arenal, building the market in 1844 (García León 1999). Without any commercial activity in the main square, the town council promoted the construction of a promenade and its embellishment. This was in accordance with the model known as the “plaza-salon”, a modernising feature typical of Spanish urban planning during the Elizabeth period (Suárez Garmendia 1986). The former site of the Jesuit monastery, due to its urban centrality and size, was chosen for the design of the new market. Madoz (1847) described it as one of the buildings that most embellished the town due to its solidity and beautiful architecture. The market was object of numerous proposals. Only two of them have survived, one belonging to Manuel Galiano and the other to Agustín Gómez de Santa María, both dated 1843. Neither of them represent the built market, the plan was lost between 1844 and 1846 (García León 1999). However, in the 1863 dossier for the access ramp construction in Eslava Street, it is found a copy of the original lost project with unknown author (Fig.8). Fig. 8 Plan of the food market in Écija. (Plan included in the dossier for the construction of an access ramp. Anonymous architect, made in 1863) Page 16 of 16 Ostos‑Prietoetal. City, Territory and Architecture (2023) 10:27 Quirós Linares F (2009) Las ciudades españolas a mediados del siglo XIX. Ediciones Trea Ramírez Olid JM (1999) Osuna durante la Restauración. 1875–1931. Ayuntami‑ ento de Osuna Seño Asencio F (2013) Acerca del valor patrimonial de los mercados munici‑ pales y plazas de abastos de nuestro entorno, Cuadernos de los amigos de los museos de Osuna, 15 Soto Artudeño W (2004) Coordenadas Histórico‑Geográficas de la Provincia Bética de la Compañía de Jesús. In El Arte de la Compañía de Jesús en Andalucía (1554–2004). Caja Sur Suárez Garmendia JM (1986) Arquitectura y urbanismo en la Sevilla del siglo XIX. Diputación Provincial de Sevilla Vallery‑Radot J (1960) Le recueil de plans d’édifices de la Compagnie de Jésus conservé a la Bibliothéque Nationale de Paris. Institutum Historicum Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in pub‑ lished maps and institutional affiliations.