Alhambra: History, Restoration and Conservation

Abstract

[EN] This article gives a brief description of the history of the successive functional transformations undergone by the Alhambra in Granada, before analysing some of the most notable episodes of the restoration of the monument in the 19th and 20th centuries. The authors present some of their ideas regarding the restoration and retrofitting for administrative use of the Barbería or room adjoining the Mexuar, an important space within the Nasrid palaces, bearing in mind that this was the original entrance to the 14th century complex, and had undergone multiple transformations over the centuries. including interventions of Nasrid kings Ismail I (early 14th century) and Mohammed V (end of 14th century), conversions by the Christian kings (16th and 17th centuries) and restorations by Torres Balbas (1920s), among others. This space was named the Barbería (the barber shop), because it was used as such during the 17th and 18th centuries, before the Alhambra acquired the category of monument. These reflections of this article can be applied to any multistratified historic building.