Arquitectura y paisaje. Fortificaciones de frontera en el sur de Galicia y norte de Portugal

  1. BLANCO ROTEA, REBECA
Supervised by:
  1. Agustin Azkarate Garai-Olaun Director
  2. Juan Manuel Monterroso Montero Director
  3. Felipe Criado Boado Director

Defence university: Universidad del País Vasco - Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

Fecha de defensa: 18 June 2015

Committee:
  1. Fernando Bouza Chair
  2. Xurxo M. Ayán Vila Secretary
  3. Manuel Retuerce Velasco Committee member
  4. María Rosario Porres Marijuán Committee member
  5. Joaquim Sabaté Bel Committee member

Type: Thesis

Abstract

This thesis studies the fortification of the border between the South of Gallicia and the North of Portugal during the War of the Portuguese Restoration (1640-1668). It analyzes the architecture and the fortified scenery that was generated there from two research strategies: Archaeology of the Architecture combined with Landscape Archaeology. It is articulated in four thematic blocks: the first block is introductory; the second block takes as a target to develop a theoretical-methodological proposal to tackle the study of the fortified sceneries of Modern Age. The third block constitutes the empirical part of the thesiswhere all the fortifications identified in the area of study are revised integrating three distinct scalar-approaches (micro, semi-micro and macro scales). Fortifications are not only part of a defensive-offensive border-line, but a core element of a fortified system that determines the border landscape and the actual construction of a physical boundary between two regions that were not properly distinct earlier on. The conclusions constitute the fourth block. As a main result, the thesis proposes an Archaeology of Built Space that aims to simultaneously study the architecture and the landscape. Finally, as part of the process to make knowledge accesible and public, a web portal has been implemented gathering together all the information from this research (www.fortalezas.es).