Gabriel Ruiz Cabrero In 1978 he received the commission to restore the Patio de los Naranjos. Since then, he has continued to work on the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, becoming one of the greatest experts on this building. The fruit of his years of work comes work’Mosque-Cathedral: invention and replica’, edited by Almuzara and which had a presentation this week at Círculo de la Amistad. This work addresses the evolution of the monument and the nature of its contrasts.
-When I called him to arrange the interview, he told me he was on scaffolding. What exactly was he doing?
-I was in the Royal Chapel. Magnificent trellises appear there, surely from the time of King Henry II of Trastamara. They have glass, although very broken. But you see very well what it was about.
-How did these trellises appear?
-Thanks to a restoration project of the Royal Chapel undertaken by the Cultural Heritage Institute of Spain. During the work, they cleaned a wall and these trellises appeared.
-Was there any news of its existence or was it a surprise?
-We suspected they might be there, but we weren’t sure. Let’s say it was a bit of a surprise.
-I see that the Mosque-Cathedral continues to surprise centuries later.
-Continuously. And it will continue to bring surprises forever and ever. Many of the elements discussed appear over time.
-During your extensive experience at the Mosque-Cathedral, what would you describe as the biggest surprises?
-A lot, it’s difficult to keep some. But for example, a year ago we discovered that the bases of the Abd al-Rahman I mosque were painted with very clear designs. This was a real surprise, because we thought their mosque was more sober and didn’t have paintings. Another important discovery was to verify that the facade that Abderramán III added to that of Abderramán I was made in the same way, but on the outside, with enormous respect. And all this many years later, almost two centuries.
-Regarding your experience, you have been in office since 1978…
-Not in the position, in the mission [ríe]. Then I received an order: the restoration of Orange Tree Court. And then more orders arrived. Later there were transfers to the Council, which continued to give us orders. And later the Cabildo. People call me the conservative architect, but because I’ve always been there [ríe]next to Gabriel Rebolloand now Francisco Rebollo too. We are conservative architects but, as they say in the world of sport, match by match, that is to say order by order.
-Have you noticed a big difference between 1978 and today in terms of restoration? I guess at least technologically, yes.
-Actually a small variation, since we work with traditional construction systems, so the advancement, for example, of plastic materials does not affect us. Yes, there has been an improvement in the limes we use, which are getting better and better, as are the techniques for analyzing the materials.
“The quality of construction was different in each era and this explains the economic conditions of the time”
-It is always said that ancient construction techniques, and the Gothic, or on other occasions the pyramids, are often cited as examples, are still admirable and surprising today. Does the same thing happen at the Mosque-Cathedral?
-Gothic is always surprising and fascinating. And it is present in the Mosque-Cathedral. For example, when we restored the covers of the arms of the transept, we found that there were three very thin facades, they were not load-bearing walls. This is because the weight of the vault goes to all four corners, demonstrating a construction technique of extraordinary finesse, precision and excellence. It is also interesting to see how the quality of construction differs in different eras. For example, at the time of Alhaken IIthe construction technique was excellent and the dimensions of the stone blocks were gigantic. They must have had fabulous machines and tools. Later, with Almanzor, the situation is much worse. The first attached great importance to construction and took great care; The second was a warrior and what he wanted was large areas to place his troops. Then there are more excellent moments with both Hernán Ruiz. Both build beautifully. On the other hand, Ochoa, at the beginning of the 17th century, was built of brick and not of stone. Even though the construction is very good, there is a decline in materials. Construction explains the current economic conditions very well.
-I suppose all these data and many others appear in your book, when did the idea to write it come to you?
-In the pandemic. We carry out an on-site visit once a week, but with the pandemic they were canceled. And I had a wonderful monkey visit. Since I was home, I started something that I already knew I had to do: recount all these discoveries, which are there, but of which we are not aware. These are discoveries in the work but also through readings.
-The construction of the cathedral inside the mosque was controversial from the beginning, with the intervention of Emperor Charles V, who considered that there had been destruction of valuable elements.
-It is not correct to say that the cathedral is built inside the mosque. The cathedral is everything. When Fernando III reconquered Córdoba, he ceded the entire building to the Church. The Cathedral is therefore everything. Work is in progress on the chapels and Gothic nave. What was done in 1523 was the transept, what was done in the center, which was called, in a way, the Cathedral. Indeed, the cruise was synonymous with destruction, but proportionally very little, since in addition, Hernán Ruiz He rebuilt one of the parts he had previously had to destroy to build said cruise. He had to introduce a transept because at that time it was understood that every cathedral must have a very high transept. But Hernán Ruiz II had great respect for the Mosque, which is reflected in his texts. And his performance was very respectful, I describe it in detail in the book. For both Hernán Ruiz, Islamic architecture seemed to be part of their own tradition. The Renaissance in Italy follows the architecture of the Roman Empire as a model, but here Spanish-Islamic architecture was added to Roman architecture. Later, in the 18th century, all those who write about the Cathedral and the Mosque consider that Hispano-Islamic architecture is our particular tradition, which distinguishes us from the Italians, the French or the English. Jovellanos and Pedro Madrazo talked about it.
-However, controversies over this mix of architectures continue to this day.
-Just before summer, the architect came Norman Foster to visit the Cathedral. He told us that what moved him the most was precisely the contrast between the transept – all light and height – and the mosque – dark and with low ceilings. I agree with him. What is most beautiful in the Mosque-Cathedral building is the contrast between two very different architectures which produce a common emotion.
