ARCHITECTURAL ANALYSIS OF THE ANTEZANA HOSPITAL:

A 15TH CENTURY NOBLE HOUSE IN THE HISTORIC CITY OF

ALCAL DE HENARES (MADRID, SPAIN)
Gonzalo Barluenga1, Raimundo Undurraga2
School of Architecture, University of Alcal, Madrid, Spain - 1gonzalo.barluenga@uah.es;
2
raimundo.undurraga@edu.uah.es

Abstract
This paper presents a multidisciplinary study of a complex historic building, the
Antezana Hospital, which allows identifying the original conception and the
historic value of the building. The methodology used in this study combines four
main steps. Firstly, historical dates were set based upon historic archives,
drawings and photographs. Secondly, materials characterization was carried out,
analyzing several samples of rammed earth, bricks and their associated mortars
from different chronology and location. Thirdly, a morphological analysis of the
different materials and constructive elements was accomplished. And fourthly, an
architectural analysis of the building was performed, allowing an interpretation of
the building chronology, which relates historical information directly with
materials and construction techniques. This multidisciplinary approach has
provided new pieces of information that allow identifying the original
construction technique, which was not described in detail in the literature.
Besides the methodological aims, the main goals were to identify the appearance,
the construction techniques and the materials of the original house before
becoming a hospital. According to the results, a link can be established between
the Hospital and other contemporary buildings. Some architectural elements are
related to 15th century noble houses in Toledo while the constructive techniques
and materials are similar to those founded in the original College of the University
of Alcal, founded by Cardinal Cisneros in 1499.
The Hospital is located in the historic city declared World Heritage Site by
UNESCO in 1998. It was founded as a charity hospital in the front part of the
house of the noble couple Luis de Antezana and Isabel de Guzman, according to
their will in 1483. The house had a central courtyard and a main front piece with a
gallery. In 1503, when Isabel died, the hospital occupied the whole building. The
care and maintenance of the Hospital was entrusted to a brotherhood, which is still
in charge of it, becoming thus one of the oldest hospitals in Europe still in use. In
1517, the Antezana Hospital became a medical practice center of the University of
Alcal, with some of their teachers being part of the brotherhood.
Nowadays, it is very difficult to recognize the original configuration of the
Hospital, as happens in many other historic buildings that have been in permanent
use and have undergone many alterations over time.
In the last five centuries, the building has been continuously used as a hospital,
which resulted in new additions to the building and the transformation of its
original layout. The most remarkable changes were: the construction of a chapel
where St. Ignatius of Loyolas cell was placed and a new church that was built
inside the front piece of the hospital. However, the main elements of the original
house are still recognizable, such as the walls, the coffered ceiling and the eaves
of the front piece of the house, and the brick piles of the court gallery.
This study is part of the Program Geomateriales. Durabilidad y conservacin de
geomateriales del patrimonio construido (S2009/MAT-1629) funded by the
Comunidad de Madrid, Spain.