Lección Trece- La Arquitectura Espanola

When the Spanish conquistadors began exploring the Americas in the late 1400s and early 1500s, they quickly began erecting houses, churches, and even cities. The new architectural style of these structures, called Spanish colonial, blended indigenous styles with established European styles such as gothic, neoclassical, and baroque

Spain's King Phillip II developed a set of codes for planners to follow when they designed and built colonial cities. Phillip's Law of the Indies required planners to use a grid system which ordered Spain's New World enclaves around the government and the church. Streets converged on a central plaza dominated by government headquarters and a cathedral, which was the centerpiece of colonial Spanish life.

Colonial cities and churches were often built atop the ruins of ancient empires. This symbolically demonstrated how European culture and Catholicism sought to replace indigenous traditions.

Spanish Catholics built many cathedrals across Latin America using baroque architecture. These churches typically had heavily ornamented twin columns and lush domes. Paintings and sculptures often decorated the interiors and were meant to inspire awe in worshippers.

A typical Spanish colonial house had a red-tiled roof and white, pink, or ochre walls made of stucco. Indoors, multicolored tiles covered walls and thick beams supported sloped ceilings. The floors were made of clay and windows were covered with wrought iron instead of glass. Enclosed courtyards were also a common feature of Spanish colonial houses.

In Latin America, Spanish colonial architecture remains a fixture in places such as Puebla, Mexico; Antigua, Guatemala; Sucre, Bolivia; Santa Cruz de Mompox, Colombia, and Santa Ana de Coro, Venezuela. In the Caribbean, the style is prevalent in Havana, Cuba; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In the United States, Spanish colonial architecture is most commonly found in California and Florida. In 1565, Spanish colonialists founded St. Augustine. The city, located on the northeastern coast of Florida, was the first permanent European settlement in the U.S. and remains a showcase of Spanish colonial architecture.