Santa Fe de Granada

Before the late 15^th century, Granada was an important medieval city under Islamic control for hundreds of years. In the late 1400’s, it was re-conquered by Catholics who decided to build Santa Fe de Granada to aid in Granada’s re-conquering.

The Surrender of Granada by Francisco Pradilla Ortiz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:La_rendición_de_Granada.jpg

grid plan of Santa Fe de Granada
http://www.flickr.com/photos/quadralectics/4361796627/

Located in a close proximity to Granada, Santa Fe de Granada contrasts the organic nature of the previous. As a military camp during the siege of Granada, Santa Fe de Granada shows the rigid grid plan of many military cities before. As I have spoken about in my previous posts about the Roman, Wari, and Spanish cultures, the grid plan seems to be an overarching architectural theme for organization of political and social purposes. The importance of the grid plan to a new city as Santa Fe de Granada would be the role it played in fortifying the city, organizing the flow of its inhabitants, controlling the social encounters of its people, and encouraging a social and political hierarchy with the important people living close to the centre of the city. The central plaza, an architectural form seen in Spanish grid planned cities like Santa Fe de Granada is particularly important for its power relations. The whole city was built around this main square where important political and religious figures would reside. It emphasized the importance that these people meant to each particular town or city and its culture.