272 Apuntes del Alcázar de Sevilla
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“
el mandato de Felipe III coincide prácticamente con la larga
maestría mayor, de 1603 a 1625, del arquitecto milanés Vermon-
do Resta, cuya influencia aún marca cada rincón del palacio. A
ello habría que añadir que la Alcaidía del Alcázar recayó sucesi-
vamente en Don Enrique de Guzmán, conde de Olivares, y en su
hijo Gaspar, el célebre conde-duque, personajes ambos poseídos
por la pasión constructora” [Quotation from a book which says
that the Alcázar was modified firstly by Vermondo Resta, and
then by Mr. Enrique de Guzmán and his son Gaspar.]
3
Vermondo resta
He was born in Italy approximately in 1555 and he arrived to Seville
probably at the end of the 16th century. In 1585 he was namedmaster
builder of the Archbishopric of Seville, and in 1603, when Lorenzo
de Oviedo died, his predecessor as master, he was named leading
master of the
Alcázar
too. However, it is certified that he had worked
as that before, maybe replacing Lorenzo de Oviedo, who was weak
due to his age.
4
As leading master of the Archbishopric, he was responsible for sev-
eral churches. He is associated with the façades of Galaroza church,
the sacristies of Saint Peter of Seville church and Santa María de Zu-
fre church, as well as with different works carried out in churches
located in Aroche, Cortegana and Aracena. One of his distinguished
works is the church and some of the rooms of the San José Convent.
It is important to emphasise the collegiate church of Olivares, as well
as his probable intervention in the remodelling of the archbishop’s
palace of Seville, where both courtyards and the adjacent rooms are
attributed to him. In order to do their elevation, he used composi-
tions based on Vignola.
5
In any case, his best works were done during the first quarter of the
17th century for the
Real Alcázar
of Seville. Among these works, we
can find the
Apeadero
, a magnificent sign of Mannerist Art. It was
made in 1607 and it is organised in three large areas separated by
engaged columns, which hold semicircular arches. The
Apeadero
has not a typical organisation of a civil building, but of a church.
Nevertheless,
“donde el genio de Resta pudo encontrar mayores opor-
tunidades para expresarse fue en los jardines” [Quotation from a book
which says that Resta found the best opportunity to express himself in
the gardens]
6
, and especially in the
Jardín de las Damas
, where he
changed the façade of the eastern side constructing the
Galería del
Grutesco
—Figure 5—.
Before that, in 1606, the
Grutesco
has an obvious precedent in the
southern façade of the corridor that divides the
Jardín de Troya
and
the
Jardín de las Damas
made by Resta too. This corridor is organised
in two levels. The upper level is a viewpoint and the lower level is
covered by a barrel vault. The most significant aspect of this ensem-
ble is probably the utilization of
opus rusticum
in the Jardines del
Alcázar
for the very first time . It was used occasionally in pilasters
and in the main parts of the arches —Figure 6—.
“La Figure de Vermondo Resta, al que consideramos Figure fun-
damental en el ambiente arquitectónico e intelectual sevillano
del primer tercio del siglo XVII, queda demostrada por el im-
portantísimo paquete de actuaciones que jalonan su actividad
profesional. [
] Las notas fundamentales de su estilo las vemos
expresadas en el tratamiento de sus portadas, en la forma de
articular los paramentos, en el uso de los soportes destacando
el empleo de la columna pareada, y en los diversos tipos de al-
mohadillado. Por todo ello su arquitectura hemos de consider-
arla revolucionaria”. [Quotation from a book which says that
Vermondo Resta is a leading figure for the architecture of the
17th century, whose style can be observed in his façades or in
his construction methods. Due to all this, we should consider
Vermondo’s architecture as revolutionary.] 7
Galería del Grutesco construction
in 1612, while he was doing the arbour located at the north front
of the
Estanque de Mercurio
, Resta started the transformation of the
eastern façade—that is the first section of the
Galería del Grutesco
—.
This Milan architect turns the Almohad rampart into a two levels
passage so as to contemplate and enjoy the gardens; therefore, he
changes the wall’s initial defensive function and makes a space for
leisure and entertainment —Figure 7—.
As said before, this section has two levels,
“con un cuerpo bajo organi-
zado por parejas de pilastras rematadas en ménsulas y con un piso su-
perior articulado por estípites que sirve de mirador. Todos los elementos
arquitectónicos y diversos fragmentos murarios se recubren por rocas
marinas y artificiales, acentuando el origen de los modelos manieris-
tas”. [Quotation from a book which explains the techniques used to
construct this section. The lower level has pilasters with corbels and the
upper level has the function of viewpoint. All of it is covered with marine
and artificial rocks, which emphasises the Mannerist Art.]
8
It was probably in 1613 when he started the enlargement of the
Gale-
ría
behind the section that points to the
Estanque de Mercurio
. In the
lower passage, which is covered, Resta built several viewpoints with
the semicircular arches held by columns with reused shafts and capi-
tals. The upper passage, which is uncovered, is protected by a para-
pet which closes the ensemble and gives continuity to the corridor.
Despite that, the most distinctive aspect of the
Galería del Grutesco
is
the western façade’s ornamentation, characterised by the use of
opus
rusticum
, porous marine rocks which are fixed to the wall and create
a natural effect, like if it was a grotto or a cave —Figure 8—.
In the
other façade, which pointed to the
Huerta del Retiro
, Resta decided
to leave it completely flat, without ornamentation, with the excep-
tion of the
Puerta del Privilegio
. This entrance is at the same level as
the Charles V’s arbour and it was built as a walkway between the
gardens and the outside. The
Galería del Grutesco
ends with a spin
where the
Jardín de la Alcoba
is, leading to a larger viewpoint than
in the rest of the passage but with a similar position in the façade.
Nowadays, its support on a section from the Islamic rampart can be
perfectly observed, although the majority of the sections that closed
the
Alcazaba
ensemble is demolished.
“La elongada Galería que, partiendo del Jardín del Estanque se
extiende hasta terminar en la Huerta de la Alcoba, es una de las
obras cumbres de Resta en el Alcázar sevillano y una de sus más
importantes aportaciones a nuestro manierismo”. [Quotation
from a book which says that the Galería del Grutesco is one of
Resta’s masterpieces in the Real Alcázar of Seville and one of
his most important contributions to the Spanish Mannerism.]9
Turn of the century
The first years of the 17th century were very important because
of the renovation and arrangement of the
Alcázar
, due to the an-
nounced visit of Philip III, which never took place. When he died in
1621, his son Philip IV took the throne and ruled until 1665. In 1624,
