The restoration of the Oratory of the Partal Palace in the Alhambra of Granada, Grand Prix Europa Nostra 2019

Abstract

This research focuses on the latest restoration of the Oratory of the Partal Palace (2013–2017), a 14th-century palatine mosque in the Alhambra, one of the most important UNESCO-listed World Heritage Sites of Spain. This restoration was awarded the Europa Nostra Grand Prix 2019, the most prestigious European heritage award, promoted by the European Commission. The restoration revealed original inscriptions, decorative elements and constructive solutions from the Nasrid period that had been unknown to date. The interpretation of these discoveries enabled a deeper understanding of Nasrid carpentry techniques as distinctive from their Christian-mudéjar counterparts. The dendrochronology tests of the original decorated timber framework covering the prayer space consistently dated its timber elements as having been cut during the autumn/winter of 1332–1333. This would prove that the Oratory had been conceived of and its construction initiated on a date earlier than its widely accepted attribution to Yusuf I (1333–1355), most likely during the rule of the earlier sultan Ismai’l I (1314–1325), who had already made several interventions in the Partal Palace. The improved legibility of the last two 1846 and 1930 historical restorations has enabled the interpretation of the Oratory of the Partal Palace as a compendium of Spanish heritage preservation approaches over the last 180 years.