Jeronimos' Tower in Casanueva, Granada, Spain - The Identity of a Village

Abstract

Casanueva, a small village in the north limit of the Vega of Granada, gets water provided by its millenary network of irrigating channels. Centuries have gone through the building object of this project, a silent witness of memories: The Farmhouse of Casanueva, known by its neighbours as "Tower of the Jeronimos". Researching the place, its toponymy transported us through time: from an agricultural monkish exploitation from the XVI century to an Islamic medieval farmhouse and from it to a Roman villa. The typological constructive analysis confirmed historical documentation data: it is in fact a Hieronymite monks building from the end of XVI-th and beginning of XVIIth century using Mudejar constructive solutions. It is a planned architecture, originally isolated as the centre of an agricultural exploitation. It could be identified as a great property constructed around a peristyle yard that appeared in historical maps and descriptions. Ever since it was able to establish lines of work for the reutilization, serving in this way as a teaching exercise for students and professors who do research and are interested in the rehabilitation of the historical patrimony. There is no doubt; it is the origin of Casanueva. As a result of the researching process the city town started the process to be recognized for its historical and archaeological values as a Cultural Interest Building with the category of monument, the greatest grade of protection that the Spanish Law gives for the historical patrimony. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.