The Recovery of the Front of the Tierra De Cadiz in the Twentieth Century by the Hand of the Architect Antonio Sanchez Esteve

Abstract

After a little more than two centuries of evolution throughout the Modern Age, in the second half of the 18th century the city of Cadiz was a paradigm among the strong cities of the Spanish Empire, being the headquarters of the Casa de Contratacion since 1717. Among the elements that made up its defensive belt, the so-called Front of the Puerta de Tierra de Cadiz stands out, which defended the city by its only land access. At the end of the 19th century, the bad economic and social situation generated the urgent need to open the city to the outside, which led to the demolition of a large part of the defensive elements at the beginning of the following century. Both for its size and for its representativeness, the Puerta de Tierra was the object of special attention not without controversy. The loss of its heritage identity on behalf of the improvement in communications with outside the walls was avoided by the intervention of the architect Antonio Sanchez Esteve.