Church – Inspection and Analysis of Historical Constructions

Sant Miquel del Port

BRIEF HISTORY

The church of Sant Miquel del Port was built between 1753 and 1755 by the architect Pedro Martín Cermeño. In 1863 the church was expanded in order to meet the needs of the rapidly increasing of local population. Till that time the church only had one floor because there was a restriction which said that buildings had to be low enough for cannon balls fired from the Citadel to fly over. It is for this reason that the upper floors were not build till late 1800s.

After that, the inside of the church has been renovated in 1912. Then, more recently, the statue of San Miguel has been rebuilt in 1992, after being destroyed during the Spanish civil war between 1936 and 1939, when the church was fired ruining the interior decoration.

Sant Pere – Rubí

BRIEF HISTORY

The earliest documented reference of the church of Sant Pere de Rubí is from 986. But it is known that the temple existed even before, it has existed probably since the late 9th century. This fact can be deduced from its architecture and also from the fact that it appears more than once named in the documents of the monastery of Sant Cugat and the churches of San Pere de Terrassa. Although the church of Sant Pere was first referred to in year 986, some elements are prior to this date. There is an indication of the existence of a little Paleochristian or Visigoth temple.

In the 11^th c. the temple was rebuilt in style Romanesque-Lombard, as can be seen on the west facade. Also in the 13^th c. two changes were done: the front door was remade into more magnificent central door with laterals columns and the primitive Romanesque roof was substituted with a new round almond shaped Gothic roof.

Big earthquake happens in the 15th century. The construction of the bell tower, the lateral chapels and adjacent buildings of community houses.

In the 19th century the demographic of Rubi expanded significantly and it leads to its expansion. The work began on December 5^th, 1882 behind the presbytery where the old parish cemetery had been. The expansion increased the capacity of Sant Pere considerably and the new church was inaugurated February 20^th, 1884.

In 1927 repairs works were carried out including: new benches, floor tiles, and stain glass; repair of roof tiles; and, other details. On July 20, 1936, during the Spanish civil war, it was set in fire and many objects of religious worship were lost. During the 90's, the battlements of the bell tower were restored.

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES AND GEOMETRY

The main entrance is at the west side, entering into the main nave with a pointed barrel vault roof of approximately 8m span and 20m length. The vault is resting on a series of square masonry piers separating the two lateral naves (north and south). The lateral naves consist of a series of aisles with domes or vaults. The eastern end of the church is semi-circular with a high chancel surrounded by an ambulatory. The bell tower was inserted later on the 16th century. The main construction material of the church is a local type of sandstone.

The church is accessible only from the west and south part as the other sides are in contact with community buildings since the 15th century.

REFERENCES

[1] A. C. Marínez, “Estudio de materiales de construcción de Sante Pere de Rubí,” Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.

[2] M. Rufé and M. I. Marroyo, Sant Pere de Rubí : els darrers 200 anys. [Rubí] : Patronat del Museo-Biblioteca de Rubí, 1987.

[3] F. Margenat, P. Bel, and J. Parras i Salvador, Coneguem l’Església de Sant Pere : dossier del mestre. [Rubí] : El Castell Ecomuseu Urbà, 2001.

[4] F. Galán Elías, F. Buil, and R. González, “Restitución de las fachadas de la Iglesia de San Pere de Rubí,” Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.

Salut church – Vallfogona

BRIEF HISTORY

The “Eglesia de la Salut de Vallfogona del Ripollès” is a church from the XVII century and it is located in the North of Catalonia, near the Pyrenees. The church has its origins in a small oratory from 1649 near to the Health Fountain. The construction started in 1689 and it was blessed the 7^th September 1701. During the XIX century the church suffered several works and restorations.

The construction of the church did not take place at once. Different parts were built after finishing the main building: in 1816 the balcony above the entrance, in 1825 the high altar, 1884 the bell tower and, around 1985, a replacement of the roof was carried out.

There is no data of any earthquakes in Vallfogona but there were two important earthquakes in the surroundings which could have affected the construction. In 1922 an earthquake happened in Sant Paul Fenouillet and in 1962 an other one of magnitude 5.1 (Richter scale) happened in Sant juan de Abadesas.

REFERENCES

[1] Clotet, Joseph: Sobre Nostra Senyora de la Salut. 1885

[2] Costa, Josep: ESTUDI GEOTÈCNIC PER AL COBRIMENT DE LA PISTA POLIESPORTIVA DE VALLFOGONA DE RIPOLLÈS. 2005

[3] España, Gobierno: Informacion Sismica @ONLINE. Januar 2015. – URL http://www.ign.es/ign/layout/sismo.do

[4] Roca, Pere: Damage and collapse mechanisms mechanical effects. In: Lecturenotes of: Inspection, analysis and restoration of historical constructions (UPC) (2014)

[5] todocoleccion: Vallfogona de Ripollès @ONLINE. Januar 2015. – URL http://www.todocoleccion.net/vallfogona-ripolles-postal-esglesia-salut~x38759075#descripcion

[6] Vallfogona, Ajuntament: Església de la Salut @ONLINE. Januar 2015. – URL http://www.vallfogona.cat/coneix/llocs-dinteres/esglesia-de-la-salut/

Sant Esteve – Ripollet

BRIEF HISTORY

The origin of this construction is Romanic (X c.) and it has experienced numerous transformation in the following centuries. It figures in documents since 992 and it figures as a parish since 1066.

In 1803, the church was remodeled by extending the left side and building the bell tower. It was also built a new roof two meters higher than the previous one.

In 1831, due to a huge storm, the bell tower was destroyed and it was replaced by a pointed vault. In 1862 the right side was extended.

In 1883, the right side was again extended to build the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.

In 1892, the bell tower was in very bad conditions, so they decided to knock it down and build a new one. It was the architect Josep Torres Agullol who was in charge of that.

In 1978, the exterior walls were remodeled leaving exposed the stone walls. Finally, in 2004, the bell tower was again remodeled with the goal of reinforcing it.

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES AND GEOMETRY

The original Romanic structure has a cross Latin shape, a central nave with a barrel vault and a semicircular apse. It had also a bell gable of which a part is conserved nowadays.

The original construction has three naves: the central one and two laterals. The central nave is covered by a barrel vault. The lateral naves are covered by spherical vaults.

The walls are quite thick, between 40 and 70cm. The majority of them are form the Medieval age and made of irregular stones. The walls of the bell tower are brick walls. The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament has the original buttress and it is covered with a barrel vault.

DAMAGE AND DIAGNOSIS

The cracks in the bell tower are due to an error in the design because the structure is opening itself. The high weight and the vibration of the bells are boosting these cracks.

The cracks in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament could be consequence of the construction of the annex building. The crack of the lintel in the main entrance could be due to the lack of traction resistance of the stone.

The crack in the spherical vault in the lateral nave appeared after the construction of an access ramp in the other side of the wall. So maybe, the movements in the terrain could modify the basements of the nave and so, the appearance of the cracks.

Sant Baldiri

BRIEF HISTORY

Around the first century it was built a Roman water tank to provide water to the public baths. Between the V and X century the water deposit was transformed into a religious building taking advance of the exterior walls of the tank conditioning its dimensions. In 966 A.D. a new church was built, the inner walls were demolished and the biggest wall was preserved as part of the new structure (northern wall of the current church).

Between the 10^th to 11^th centuries, the church was remodeled. The changes remained until the 18^th century.

In 1725 the church was demolished and again, the thick wall (northern wall) was preserved. An entirely new church was made of rubble masonry using the stones from older constructions, except the front facade, which was constructed with new nicely carved sand stones.

The construction of the new church took 27 years (1725-1752). The bell tower was the last section to be constructed (1750-1752). During the civil war in Spain (1936), all the art work from the church was burned but the structure didn’t suffer any damage.

After the civil war, the church was transformed into a garage. On the south wall, new big openings were carved to allow the entrance of trucks. In 1970 the building was returned to the church.

To restore the original appearance of the interior of the church, some works have been done such as placing wooden altar pieces and decorations. In addition, all chapels’ wall-paintings were painted to recreate the old appearance. In 2010, other restoration activities took place such as replacing the roof of the first two chapels from east to west on the second level in both sides of the nave. The process of replacing the whole roof of the main nave, and the chapels on the second level started in November 2016.

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES AND GEOMETRY

The church was built in the Neo-classical style with some baroque features presented on the front facade. The church’s structural system consists of 14 main piers supporting the weight of the church. The nave is made of a barrel vault that spans 13m, and towers at 19m.

There are 4 chapels on each side of the church spanning 4m in the longitudinal direction. The interior of the church is covered with a layer of plaster which makes it difficult to determine the compositions of the interior walls and columns. That being said, few surviving pictures from the 2^nd level show a stone rubble wall composition. This is highly plausible since all external walls are built with stone rubble, except the front facade which is built with large stone blocks.

It was not possible to have graphic information of the church, so the plans that have been made don’t have exactly measurements.

Sant Miquel – Terrassa

BRIEF HISTORY

The complex of Seu d’Egara englobe the churches of Sant Pere, Santa Maria and Sant Miquel. It is considered as Heritage of Cultural Interest in Spain.

Iberian and Roman period (V B.C – III A.C): the first settlement is dated in the Neolithic. But in the IV century B.C there were an Iberian settlement. From the II c. B.C this place was Romanized. There are still some rests from the Roman period.

Centuries V – VIII: during this period some Cristian constructions were built and one of these constructions was the church of Sant Miquel. This church is the only building which conserves the original plan and facade from the VI century and it was a church where to entomb the deceased.

Medieval period (IX c. – XIII c.): in 988 the church suffered the only structural modification which was the demolition of the exterior gallery. During this period the churches of Sant Pere and Santa Maria suffered some important changes, while the church of Sant Miquel reminded almost the same.

Gothic period (IX c. – XV c.): during this period there were not any important structural changes, most of the changes where related to the decoration.

Modern period (XVI c. – XVIII c.): in the XVII century, the facade of the temple was rebuilt with more uniform and square stones than the original ones. Also, the door was built in a higher level than the original one. In the same century, most of the walls and the vaults where rebuilt when the building suffered an important demolish.

Present: between 1917 and 1921 the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch rehabilitated the complex. In the church of Sant Miquel he identified a baptistery of the Visigothic period and during the restoration of the building, he decided to build a pool where to baptize the new Christians. But then, in 2005, a new archeological study determined that it was not a baptistery but a mausoleum.

In 1980 J. Ambròs did some reparations of the roof. In 2002, due to structural problems, some rods to stabilize the building.

Finally, in 2005, it was done the last restoration project by Alfred Pastor. The exhumation of the hidden mausoleum was done. The lattices were cleaned and the cement that Puig i Caldafalch used between the ashlars was removed.

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES AND GEOMETRY

It is a Romanic construction of one floor and a square plan (11x11m² aprox.). At the end of the presbytery, in a semi-basement floor, there is the crypt bellow the altar.

The main access is located in the South facade and it has two other entrance in the North and West facades. The roof is covered with tiles, but originally it was covered by stone slabs.

The plan shape is a Greek cross. The apse has the shape of a horseshoe. The eight columns were reused or came from other buildings. They are divided in three groups: the oldest group (2, 3, 7 and 8) made with White marble possibly come from the Roman period; the second group (4 and 5) are also of marble from the VII century; and the last group (1 and 6) are approximately from the centuries VII and IX.

Sant Pere – Terrassa

BRIEF HISTORY

The complex of Seu d’Egara, where the church of Saint Pere is included, was built in the middle of the ancient settlement, in the confluence of two torrents. The development of the church of Saint Pere could be summarized in six fundamental steps.

Paleo-Christian and Visigoth period (4^th – 7^th c.): the place was first occupied by Iberian villages and then colonized by the Romans. It first became an episcopal center, and later a bishopric in the 5^th c. In this period a massive basilica was built where the church of Santa Maria is located now.

Pre-Romanesque era (8^th – 10^th c.): the totality of the complex was subjected to an important restyling leading to the separation of the three churches standing isolated as they are nowadays.

Romanesque period (11^th – 13^th c.): one of the most important architectural features derives from this period is the masonry barrel vault that covers the main nave. It was built following the layout of the previous nave from the Paleo-Christian period and using some of its remains for the foundations.

First intervention (17^th c.): in 1661 the lateral chapel of Sant Valenti was built. A general restoration of the external walls was also done and the construction of the two tower bells. A new lantern was built on top of the apse in order to introduce light to the altar, this intervention is thought to have led to the construction of two buttresses reinforcing the apse’s walls and so, increasing the load on the roof.

The restoration area (1895 – 1951): the lateral chapel of Santissim Sagrament was built in 1880. In 1885, one of the most significant restorations was carried out: the lantern and the bell towers built in the 17^th c. were dismantled. The remaining hole in the dome over the apse was closed and the buttresses on the back resized. The vicariate building was also demolished.

In 1905, the whole complex was redesigned by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch. The works had to stop because of national conflicts striking the country, but the church managed to endure the Spanish Civil War without suffering any damage thanks to popular support.

Last intervention (1975 – 2014): the first restoration after the Civil War began in 1975. The buttresses from the 17^th c. were removed because they were no longer necessary. Reinforced concrete retrofitting of the foundation below the apse was done to discard any future settlement due to change of lateral soil configuration.

In 2001, a set of tie rods were placed in the north eastern wall in order to open a new door. Also, the rooftops of the Santissim Sagrament and Sant Valentì were restored.

The latest restoration was done in 2013-14. It consisted in the consolidation of the main nave of the church with six tie rods and in the repair of most visible structural damages. The walls were cleaned and the interior decorations were also restored. A new entrance was opened in the northern facade.

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES AND GEOMETRY

The Romanesque main nave is covered by a slightly pointed masonry barrel vault which covers a span of almost 8 m. A second masonry barrel vault, higher and taller, covers the transept and connects the main nave to the apse and the lateral chapels. A very characteristic overlapping of three arches can be observed connecting these two vaults.

The 6^th c. trilobate apse is covered by a brick on-edge dome and the lateral chapels of Santissim Sagrament (19^th c.) and San Valentí (17^th c.) are covered by brick cross vaults. The lateral Pre-Romanesque chapels are half barrel on-edge brick vaults built on top of stone masonry walls.

These added units of different periods are independent elements inserted with a visible lack of interlocking. In previous restoration projects, the inner joints existing between units had been infilled with Portland cement, giving to the connections a rigidity the building had never had before.

Archaeological research has revealed that parts of the church are standing on top of remains of the ancient Roman basilica of Egara, which are serving as foundations. The soil where the church is standing is mostly clay. The archaeological excavations carried out in 2001 removed 1m of soil and revealed the foundations of the southern facade, altering both the ground level surrounding the foundations and the natural course of the running water.

Two different kinds of rooftops cover the different vaults: the main nave has a sand and rubble infill covered with roof tiles anchored to a wooden batten. And the northern lateral chapels have no infill and are covered by tiles on top of a wooden structure supported on both steel I-beams and wooden beams.

DAMAGE AND DIAGNOSIS

Material deterioration in stones has been found in isolated areas and caused by poor stone quality, therefore it is not considered as a relevant damage to structural elements. Bio-films are caused by the presence of humidity in the northern facade due to the lack of sunlight. Vegetation presence is a consequence of the lack of maintenance. Most non-structural damages have been found to be directly related to the presence of water in different forms.

The deformation of the pointed barrel vault of the main nave could have been caused by an outward rotation of the external southern wall. The cracks in Santissim Sagrament chapel the cross-vaults and arches could be a result of settlement of the northern exterior wall, eccentric accumulation of waste on extrados or contacts between beam and transverse arches. The cracks in the transept may have been caused by a lack of compatibility or an over-loading from previous additions.

Santa Anna church

BRIEF HISTORY

The Holy Sepulcher Order settled in Barcelona in a church near to the Cathedral. Then in 1177, they built a new church placed where the present one is, the architect was Ramón Amadeu.

The church has had different names due to the changes of it denomination (collegiate church or parish) and also because of the changes in the Orders.

The church was reformed in 1835. Some years after, in 1873 the church was profaned by anti-religious groups as many other churches in Barcelona at that time. Because of this, it was closed to the public during some time.

In 1875 the surrounding areas where urbanized, in consequence, some of the constructions belonging the church where destroyed. But in 1881 it was named as a National Monument to avoid it demolition.

The dimensions of the church were not enough to admit all the public, so in 1887 they started the construction of a new and independent building. It was inaugurated in 1914 but it was not still finished.

The priest Ramón Balcells (1920-1936) was very active and he did some restorations in the church till he was murdered in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. He renewed some altars, and in the main one and in the exterior facades he put adobe where there had been other constructions annexed.

In 1936 the church was fired, both the old one and the new one (Neo-gothic part). Due to this event, the dome was destroyed and it is possible to observe the new cimborio made with bricks. The old church conserved the exterior walls despite the fire, but the new one was demolished in 1938.

REFERENCES

[1] J. M. Azcárate Ristori, “Monumentos españoles,” in Catálogo de los declarados histórico-artísticos, J. M. Azcárate Ristori, Ed. Madrid: CSIC, 1954, pp. 74–75.

[2] J. Ainaud, J. Gudiol, and F. P. Verrie, Catálogo monumental de España: la ciudad de Barcelona (vol. 2), 1st ed. Madrid: CSIC, 1947.

[3] J. Aran i Suriol, Santa Anna de Barcelona. Monestir, Colegiata, Parroquia. Barcelona: Editorial Mediterrània, 2002.

[4] A. A. Pi y Arimón, Barcelona antigua y moderna ó descripción e historia de esta ciudad desde su fundación hasta nuestros días. Barcelona: Imprenta y librería politécnica de Tomás Gorchs, 1854.

[5] A. Campany, La Iglesia de Santa Ana de Barcelona (Vol XVII). Barcelona: Liberia Francisco Puig, 1929.

[6] C. Flores and E. Amann, “La arquitectura de Barcelona,” Hogar y Arquitectura, Madrid, 1964.

[7] “Blog Parroquia de Santa Ana.” [Online]. Available: http://www.parroquiasantaanna.org/. [Accessed: 08-Jan-2015].

[8] J. Emili Hernández-Cros, G. Mora, and X. Pouplana, Arquitectura de Barcelona. Barcelona: Demarcació de Barcelona del Col·legi de Catalunya, 1990.

[9] B. Baldiri, “Monasterios de Cataluña,” 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.monestirs.cat/monst/bcn/cbn02anna.htm. [Accessed: 14-Nov-2016].

Sant Felipe Neri church

BRIEF HISTORY

This baroque style church was built in the first half of the 18^th century and it is a work of the architect Pere Bertran during the years 1721 and 1752. It was constructed on a Jewish and medieval cemetery of Montjuïc del Bisbe.

The facade of the church is disfigured because of the extensive aerial bombardment that took place in the city during the Spanish Civil War. This is attested by the plaque present in the square which commemorates the bombing that took place in the square on the 30^th of January 1938 to cause the collapse of the underground part of the church.

After that event, the architect Adolf Florensa was commanded to rebuild the place. He decided to enlarge the square and maintain the style of the houses.

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES AND GEOMETRY

The plan of the church forms a typical cross shape. The apse has a semicircular shape in plan. The central and lateral naves are separated by four columns. The church makes use of semicircular arches to create openings between the columns as well as to connect chapels in lateral nave. The main transept with pitched roof, which is tiled.

The lateral thrust from the three central vaults of the nave is resisted by three buttresses on the second level. The lateral thrust from the remaining arches is resisted either by the load-bearing wall, incorporated into the front facade, and by the walls at the intersection of nave with the transept. The columns are likely to be supported on isolated footings.

The main material of the structure is Montjuïc stone.

REFERENCES

[1] Feilden, B. “Conservation of Historic Buildings”, Architectural Press, 2003 (Third Edition).

[2] Jaltare, M., Sharma, S., Nyandak, T. “Report 4 – Identification of Damage and Alterations The Church of Sant Felip Neri”. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 2014

[3] Colectivo Paso a Paso, La canallad(da) de Sant Felip Neri, documentary, 2008

[4] Roca Fabregat, Pere. “Introduction”. Inspecion, Analysis and Restoration of Historical Constructions. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Departament d’Enginyeria de la Construcció

Ciutadella church

BRIEF HISTORY

The preset Military Parish Church is placed in the same terrains that the fort built by Felipe V to dominate the city after de Spanish Succession War in the XVIII century.

On September the 11^th of 1714, Barcelona fell into the hands of Felipe V’s army, who built this fortress to keep the city under control. The construction of the Citadel was ordered to the Flemish military engineer Joris Prosper Van Verboom. The works began on March 16^th of 1715.

It was turned into a hated symbol of the central government by the people of Barcelona, so finally, it was ordered to overthrow it in 1841, but two years later, during the regency of Maria Cristina de Borbon, it was again restored. General Prim decreed its donation to the city.

Finally, due to the Revolution in 1868, it started the demolition of the Citadel. From the original fort only remains: the chapel which we are studying, the governor's palace (currently the IES Verdaguer) and the arsenal, (now the current seat of Parliament Catalonia).

Investigations involving the church minister has revealed that the church is, and always has been, dealing with humidity. Only 10 years after its completion, the roof of the church was changed because of humidity problems. Furthermore, the church originally had small building extensions on either side of the back end of the church, in which the minister’s sacristy was located. These building extensions have since been demolished.

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES AND GEOMETRY

The church is symmetrical with one big dome and a tower on the south side. Along each side of the church there are four smaller domes, eight in total. The small domes are located along the long sides, and are each carried by three walls and an arch carried by columns. The big dome is carried by four arches on top of columns. In the back of the church, there is an apse, above which is the tower. The roof is built as a vault in the longitudinal direction.

The columns in the church are made of sandstone blocks, most likely brought to the structure from Montjuïc. Other structural parts, such as the domes and the vault are also made of sandstone. The rest of the church is built using normal bricks. The outer part of the church is covered in a layer of plaster, which is painted in pink, beige and grey depending on the location.