The marble used for the construction of the Genoese Bartolomé Veneroso’s palace, who settled in Granada around 1563, was quarried from Macael and not from the region of Carrara, as had been believed until now. At present, the palace has been turned into the University Residence Colegio Mayor San Bartolomé y Santiago.
Lázaro Gila Medina and Miguel Córdoba Salmerón, researchers from the UGR, have carried out these and other verifications. The researchers declared that affirmations made by some publications about the origin of the marble are unfounded. These publications state that the marble used in the columns of the ornamental courtyard in the Castle-Palace of the Fajardo family, in Vélez Blanco, in the province of Almería (Spain)- and currently located in the skylight of the Metropolitan Museum of New York- as well as the marble used in the Colegio Mayor San Bartolomé y Santiago were from the quarries of Carrara. In any case, all the marble in the façade and the Patio de mármoles (Marble Courtyard) of the Hospital Real (the Headquarters office of the Universidad de Granada) come from the quarries of Sierra de los Filabres in Macael.
The researchers, who have published their conclusions in Cuadernos de Arte de la Universidad de Granada number 36, stated the following: “With this study, we want to bring to light a series of notarial contracts which were subscribed before several public notaries and ecclesiastical notaries from Granada. These contracts guaranteed the supply of different quantities of marble from those mythical quarries of Sierra de los Filabres. According to these new documents, there were many destinations and locations around Spain.
In this study, the UGR researchers have focussed on the marble quarried in Macael, in the region of Andalucía, whose raw material has been and is still mistaken for the marble from Carrara.
“The case of Bartolomé Veneroso is of great interest, because he was Genoese- i.e his home city was the traditional place where marble from Carrara was exported to Spain- and the idea of bringing all the marble from Carrara to construct and embellish his palace was a really good one. Bartolomé Veneroso was the person to refer that decision to his brother. However, all the marble used in the coutyard, main staircase and the galleries which led to the primitive orchard, came from Macael. This marble was agreed on in negotiations between Bartolomé and the quarry master (and architect) Damián Plá Navarro between the 16th and 17th centuries”, according to Córdoba and Gila.
Macael and El Escorial
“We already knew that Philip II ordered macaeleros (people from Macael) to help quarrymen that he had sent to quarry and load white marble for the girder of the basilica of the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (Madrid, Spain). We should stress that the Crown had reserved a large quarry in Macael called The Royal Quarry, which was divided into sectors- one of them called The Pine Quarry. The Monarch handed over the quarry to different quarrymen for its exploitation. The marble obtained from here was used in the construction of the Palacio de la Granja de San Ildefonso (The Palace of the Farm of Saint Ildephonsus).”
The paper that certifies that the marble of the Real Colegio Mayor San Bartolomé y Santiago comes from Macael states the following:
“Damián Plá Navarro as the quarry master in Sierra de los Filabres, and his wife María López de la Rosa, residing in Granada and Bartolomé Veneroso, residing at 24 Caballero in Granada AGREE to quarry the marble from the above mentioned Sierra de los Filabres and to bring, cut and place in Bartolomé’s main houses the following marble pieces: 1) A white marble pedestal, whose height is the same as the pedestals in houses at 24 Pedro Juan and whose width is 80 square centimetres. 2) A small figure of a lion will be made over the pedestal. The figure will be well-proportioned and it will carry the coat of arms of Bartolomé. 3) Two pieces to make the support from where the balaustrade (of the stairs) is eight feet long and ten finger-breaths wide. 4) Two pieces with the same dimensions as the previous ones to make the banister. 5) Fourteen steps for the staircase. 6) 250 square slabs, each one of one foot on the side and two finger-breaths thick. 7) Two pieces, each one twelve feet long, a span thick, and eleven steps for the banisters over the staircase 8) Other pieces this time from the quarries of Sierra Elvira. 250 square paving stones of a foot on the side, and any other stones needed will be quarried to make the first step. It will be grey-brown or black stone, with the height required by the hole and 40 centimetres wide. Everything will be done according to Gonzalo Hernández, who is the foreman and the person in charge. The deadline will be the 1st of November (All Saints Day). The payment will be as follows: total amount 6250 pesetas, FIRST PAYMENT 412.5 pesetas paid in advance, SECOND PAYMENT 275 pesetas paid once the marble has been discharged in Bartolomé’s houses and FINAL PAYMENT 5562 pesetas depending on the completion of the phases. Finally, the couple mortgage certain properties located in Olula, and Juan de Pilas, a colleague of the quarry master, signs as a witness.
In Granada, 4th of October 1600”
Reference:
Prof. Lázaro Gila Medina. Departament of History of Art
Phone number: 958 243 624 / 958 243 627. E-mail address: lgila@ugr.es
