DIAGNOSIS OF THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE OF THE BISHOP OF TORTOSA

(Terres de l'Ebre)

  • Project dossier written in:
    • Fortià arquitectes
  • Writting team director:
    • Josep Maria Fortià, Adela Geli
  • Finalised in:
    • 2019
  • Collaborators:
    • Dani Blanc, arquitecte tècnic; Anna Cucurull, arquitecta tècnic; Xavier Busquets i Gerard Moradell, estudiants d'arquitectura.
  • Promoter:
    • Generalitat de Catalunya - Departament de Cultura

At the end of 2018 we carried out the work of the Diagnosis and Analysis of the Architectural Heritage of the Diocese of Tortosa in the lands of the Ebro. In this work, which has been commissioned by the Department of Culture of the Generalitat, we have analyzed and highlighted the current state of the churches, monasteries and other buildings that make up this important religious architectural heritage of southern Catalonia.

Of a total of 95 monuments, we have carried out a detailed study of their structure, construction elements and state of conservation. The churches in this territory mostly correspond to the floor-living room church module, with a roof made of wooden beams and interior ceramic vaulted ceilings.

A total of 30 visits have been made to the monuments of the Bishopric, distributed among 5 counties: El Baix Ebre, Montsià, Terra Alta, Ribera d'Ebre and Priorat. A schematic plan has been drawn of each monument and its most important characteristics and pathologies have been noted. Buildings of extraordinary value have been studied such as Tortosa Cathedral, an outstanding example of 14th century Gothic in Catalonia, the Royal Colleges of Sant Mateu and Sant Miquel, one of the few examples of a Catalan Renaissance civil building, the convent of Sant Salvador in Horta de Sant Joan, a monastic building of the first order or the church of the Assumption of Gandesa, a unique case of a basilica with a living room raised on the remains of a Gothic nave.

The work has allowed us to learn first-hand the construction systems and architectural typologies throughout the centuries of this heritage and we have been able to establish a systematic constructive and structural analysis that will be useful to us in other works on the legacy of the 'monumental architecture that we will undertake from the office in the future.