Resilience and urban form transformation: from San Fulgencio monastery to market in Écija, Spain

Abstract

The nineteenth century city in Spain is defined by modernisation, transformation and urban renewal. The production of urban plans played an important role in projects for the realignment of streets and the opening of new roads. In addition, new urban facilities were added, such as the bullring or the food market, which had hitherto been lacking in many cities. In addition, the church confiscations and the decrease of religious orders led to the abandonment and demolition of many monasteries and convents, which were subsequently used in urban developments. If the new urban facilities were located in the city centre, situated on old monastic plots, is it indeed possible to determine the original monastic plot and building through its urban trace? This research focuses on studying the urban morphology and typology transformation derived from the succession of the monastery to a market. The case study is the Jesuit monastery in Écija, which was transformed into a food market in 1844. A methodology based on the analysis and comparison of maps and planimetry of the market and the disappeared monastery has been used. In order to find the original monastic plot, an inverted chronological order has been followed. The inaccuracies of the original plans have led to an initial study of the current market, towards the market project and finally the monastery itself, trying to identify and define the earliest traces. The results include a hypothesis of the original building of the monastery, as well as the identification of monastic areas under residential buildings on plots outside the market.