Europe is full of castles. Castles were
in the Middle Ages not just strongholds, but also symbols of power
and independence. A castle said to anyone looking at it “Come
and get me, if you dare”. That is why big cities had castles and
why small frontier outposts had their own fortresses. Spain's Middle
Ages were turbulent times, with frequent wars and shifting borders;
castles helped keep those borders stable. And that is why Spain is
full of castles. Christians and Muslims alike fought over the
Peninsula for 800 years; sometimes allies against common foes, other
times divided along religious lines. Rota was no exception, as we
have seen in other issues, the very name of Rota derives from the
Arabic “Rutta”... Frontier.
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| Rota seen from Paseo de Galeones. |
Considering Rota's natural situation
on a rocky outcropping at the edge of the Bay, most cultures that
settled here fortified this place to defend the access to Cádiz,
Jerez and Seville. The Moors -Muslim rulers of medieval Spain- were
no different and here they built a rabita -a fortified
monastery- which would become the bases for the future town as well
as the foundation for today's castle.
Rota was captured by the Christian
kingdom of Castile in 1251 after the fall of Muslim Seville, but kept
it's Muslim population. This odd situation could not last, by 1264
the mudejar population rebelled against the Castilian taxes and
rulers and quickly overran the outnumbered garrisons. The Castilian
army returned and harshly put down the rebellion, the defeated were
given two options: expulsion or death. Most emigrated to upper
Andalusia, to the Muslim kingdom of Granada that would live on
another 230 years. For a long time, most of the lower Guadalquivir
became a deserted track of land with very few people living in it. It
wasn't until the 14th century that it was resettled with
people coming from northern Spain and Rota was handed over to duke of
Medina-Sidonia whom began rebuilding the old Moorish castle.
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| Keep and south wall. |
In the following years, the medieval
castle proved itself obsolete when facing early artillery so the Duke
turned it into a palace. Rota's defences became the new artillery
forts on its' outer city walls. The castle remained a summer
residence for the Duke -first of Medina-Sidonia, and thereafter of
the new lord, the Duke of Arcos- as well as the town hall until 1750.
For the next hundred and sixty years it fell into disrepair and
abandonment until in 1909 the marquis of San Marcial bought it and
again used it a a summer residence, repairing the old palace. In 1943
it was again purchased by a nobleman, only to turn it into a school
and a hospital. All this buying and selling and reforms meant that
many changes were made to the original design. By the time that in
1987 it was acquired by the town council, the building could hardly
be referred to as a “castle” anymore, so a restoration attempt
was carried out starting in 1989.
I remember visiting the restoration
works as a child with my father in 1995 and a true archaeological
operation was underway to recover the “castle” that was lost
somewhere inside all the new walls and layers of plaster. It was not
until 1999 that the restoration was complete and the castle was
re-opened: this time as Town Hall and as a public monument.
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| Homage tower and the small bust of Bartolomé Pérez |
Anyone can visit it during office
hours, at least the lower floor, with no restrictions and for free!
The Tourist Office can be found there, so it is usually a good idea
to begin any visit to Rota with the castle, and get a town map in the
process. Outside the castle is the Plaza de Bartolomé Pérez. Pérez
was a Rota seaman that sailed with Columbus to “India” in his
first voyage as a crewmember... and on his second as the pilot of
Rota's own caravel: the San Juan. A model bronze caravel and a stone
bust of Pérez can be found in the little garden at the foot of the
walls.
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| Patio & closter of the Palace |
The castle as we see it today is built
in three different styles... not taking modern elements into
consideration: the Moorish style, the Gothic style and Renaissance.
The exterior of the fortress is all in the Moorish -or rather mudejar- style. This can be seen in the shape of the towers;
mudejar castles -such as those of Rota, Seville or Lisbon- have
square towers, whereas Christian castles have round towers
-like the castle of Mallorca or the walls of Ávila-. We can easily
enter the castle through the main gates, there is a small control,
but as it is a monument you can simply walk pass it and enter the
patio.
The patio was built in the 15th century as the
castle was turned into a palace and mixes Gothic and Renaissance
elements. Its' arches separate the cloister from the patio, yet do
not seem to get into the way in any shape or form. Rather, they give
a relaxing a rhythmic feel to the compound as we raise our eyes
upwards. There we can see the stone-cut flowery décor which seems
to remind us of the Doge's Palace in Venice. But, let's walk around
the cloister...
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| Gothic-mudejar frescos in the cloister |
On the west wing we can see several
frescos on the walls. These were rediscovered during the restoration
as they had been previously white-washed when the building was used
as a hospital, as the plaster keeps humidity -and fungi- from
building up on the walls. Quite a health-hazard for a hospital!
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| Frescos and image of the Virgen de la Granada, donated by the Catholic Monarchs in 1477 |
The rest of the castle can be visited
with a guide, the Tourist Office can tell you when guided visits are
due, but bear in mind that no dungeons or medieval rooms are to be
found here. It is an alive modern office building with wi-fi, not a
museum. These visits will show you much more than I can tell you...
so take a walk downtown and discover the castle for yourself!
Published in the Rota Coastline. The 20th of February, 2014
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