Intervention in Morella Castle
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Project Description
The emergency works to consolidate Morella Castle, interior town with 2500 inhabitants (in an inland area, depending on tourism) have been made following the general criterion to restore and consolidate the existing masonry, maintaining their ruinous physiognomy, avoiding reinterpretation of the original state. Areas that were in ruins have been made accessible and passable, adding public spaces for population. Also, a stratigraphic mural analysis has been considered to analyse the microhistory.
Geographical Scope
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Urban or rural issues
Physical or other transformations
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Description of the project
Summary
The work has had an important impact on the population of Morella, not only for the consolidation of an important area of the castle that was at risk of collapse, as a safeguard of its rich and important historical heritage. But also as recovery and accessibility of an area fundamental to the understanding of the history of Morella that remained closed.
The economy of Morella, with 2500 inhabitants, in an inland area, little passable, depends basically on tourism. Therefore, the conservation and enhancement of its castle, with 100,000 visits per year, is essential for the local population.
The general criterion for intervention has been to restore and consolidate the existing masonry, maintaining their ruinous physiognomy, mainly in their crowns, hollows and surfaces, avoiding reinterpretation of the original state.
For the necessary added structural elements, have been used compatible materials such as lime concrete, with stainless steel and glass fibre reinforcing, with tones and textures that integrate with the rest of the interesting historical stratigraphy of the existing and discovered masonry. In the same way, for the necessary added functional elements such as carpentry, it has been used stainless steel with titanium steam treatment, giving it a finish that integrates with the rest of the intervention.
The recovery and enhancement of this area of the Castle has had an important impact on the local culture and economy, being, previously, an area not visitable by its state of conservation, being currently accessible, with meeting points and viewpoints that emphasize the spatial and landscape richness of the historic site.
With its consolidation and restoration, without making a change of activity or use in the area of action, it does improve accessibility to the area, with the possibility of enhancing and valuing as viewpoints.
Key objectives for sustainability
Morella Castle, which overlooks an ocean of mountains, has been one of the most imposing fortresses in the Mediterranean. The passage of numerous civilizations has left its mark on this impressive construction inhabited uninterruptedly since the 3rd Millennium BC. The military fortress built taking advantage of the natural rock, owes its importance and charm to this privileged situation. Its construction has made it a strategic place of first order, impregnable fortress that has allowed the dominion and control of the natural passage from the interior to the coast.
The economy of Morella, with 2500 inhabitants, in an inland area, little passable, depends basically on tourism. Therefore, the conservation and enhancement of its castle, with 100,000 visits per year, is essential for the local population. Morella is located within the route of the most beautiful villages in Spain, making it through its physiognomy, its state of conservation and the high value of its historical heritage, an international reference of the European rural heritage.
The recovery and enhancement of this area of the Castle has had an important impact on the local culture and economy, being, previously, an area not visitable by its state of conservation, being currently accessible, with meeting points and viewpoints that emphasize the spatial and landscape richness of the historic site.
The recovery expands the possibilities of visiting the monumental complex of Morella, while valuing its historical richness, highlighting the clear reading stratigraphic that is made inside the canvas of loopholed wall, the only one who has a clear reading throughout the Castle.
Landscaped, the recovery of the Sant Francesc Tower and its accessibility, make it a unique viewpoint of the Castle, previously impracticable, in addition to consolidating some factories with an important visual and landscape impact from the surroundings of the region to the mole where the Castle is located.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The integration of the new elements, necessary for the conservation of the existing masonry, has also been one of the most analysed points of the project. Create new elements, such as buttresses or retaining walls, with a modern language, that would integrate with the rest of masonry (also with a rich stratigraphy), playing with the difference of textures and the similarity of tonalities.
In the area of the loopholed wall, about 70 meters long and about 14 meters high, the main work has been focused on the structural consolidation, being at risk of collapse, as well as the cleaning and restoration. Outside the walls, four buttresses have been placed, reinforcing the foundation, recovering the exported land and sealing and consolidation of cracks.
In the interior of the walls, an important volume from Carlist War period fillings has been removed because of they affected structurally the wall, appearing numerous archaeological remains, deposited in the Museum of the Castle of Morella, as well as the finding of three lime ovens, leaving visible medieval rammed-earth that remained hidden.
The access to the Sant Francesc Tower has been recovered by the execution of the roof in its wall-walks annex, its stairs, and the increase of the semi-demolished wall and the tense. All the masonry has been restored, including the ramp and its annex building.
In the area of Pardala Tower, the entire filling has been emptied to its original level to be able to waterproof and systematize the collection of water, executing his lost cover. The exterior masonry has been restored, with curious finds such as cannonballs embedded in the Tower, or a hidden gunboat.
In the same area, the ancient overhanging latrines, that remained undetected, have been enhancement, executing a carpentry that allows to emphasize and to leave visible the corbels of this important historical element, to be the point of entry in 1838 of the Carlist troops.
Key objectives for inclusion
Within the areas where it has been intervened, it was impossible to access the Tower of San Francisco and its annex buildings, being equally inaccessible and impracticable the wall of the loopholed wall. In the same way, access to the Torre de la Pardala was prohibited due to its state of conservation and the areas of walls near the overhanging latrines.
With its consolidation and restoration, without making a change of activity or use in the area of action, it does improve accessibility to the area, with the possibility of enhancing and valuing as viewpoints.
In Sant Francesc area, the state of conservation of the wall was deficient in the outer zone, being the most worrying injuries the structural cracks near the change of seat in the strata, and, to a lesser extent, the fissures that exist in the encounters between different types of factory and singular elements. Very worrying was the overturning that occurs in the whole loopholed wall. Also was the leakage dampness from the interior. The other pathologies were superficial and secondary normal according to the degree of deterioration and lack of maintenance of the area.
In Pardala area, the state of preservation was very poor in the outer zone, the most worrying part being the lack of material at the base of the wall and latrines in flight that made evident a lack of underpinning and destabilization of the entire upper body, as well as the filtered wetness that appeared right in this area of lack of material. Cracks and cracks in the encounters of elements were also of concern.
The work has had an important impact on the population of Morella, not only for the consolidation of an important area of the castle that was at risk of collapse, as a safeguard of its rich and important historical heritage. But also as recovery and accessibility of an area fundamental to the understanding of the history of Morella that remained closed.
Results in relation to category
The main objective of the intervention was to consolidate and restore the area of the Sant Francesc Tower and its annexed buildings as well as the stretch of wall; the Pardala Tower and the adjoining canvas to the area of the Latrines to the flight included, to avoid the danger of landslides on people, as well as to ensure the integrity of the B.I.C. There were problems of structural stability, and there was a need for greater emergency action to eliminate the danger throughout the area with a high risk of collapse.
During the consolidation works, it was discovered with the movement of lands of the wall the support levels of the interior wall, showing a large canvas of “tapial”, interesting for its value.
Likewise, during the detailed study of the surrounding conditions of the wall, a level jump in the foundation of the wall is discovered, which added the movements of earth within the walls, and preventing the underpinning of the wall, involves the appearance of two levels in the intramural zone.
Among the archaeological findings of interest, highlight the appearance of 3 old lime kilns in the intramural area. On the surface, its position and size will be recorded with different designs on the pavement, which will also act as a bench for visitors.
In the same way, in the area of La Pardala, the archaeological excavations discover the actual height of it, which is used as a reference in the process of recovery of the environment, also generating a terracing and slope with respect to the surrounding paths.
Apart from the findings, some technical reports have been necessary during the work to make decisions on the interventions to be made, such as: Geotechnical survey, field surveys and tastings, preliminary and final archaeological report, report on the restoration of the “tapial” wall, Stability study of the rock stratum at the base of the Pardala, Carbon-14 tests of lime kilns found, Characterization tests of materials.
How Citizens benefit
Locally, the project has had an important social impact in Morella in terms of the preventive conservation of its main heritage element. The population of Morella is aware of partial losses of its heritage (such as collapses in the castle itself), due to the lack of resources to be able to face them by the scale of the monument itself.
With the protection to the leaks, main cause of the existing pathologies in the factories of the Castle, achieved by the intervention in the interior of the wall, with the paved areas in the areas of Sant Francesc and Pardala, The town has expanded some points that serve as a meeting and rest point during the ascent to the Castle, as well as places for conferences and outdoor events, where history and landscape come together in harmony. In the same way, the covering of the Pardala Tower or the setting in value of the overhanging latrines (previously unnoticed), has served to make culturally recognized and valued two icons that transcend the historical importance that they have for the region.
Especially, Morella has also won with the necessary incorporation of the interior pavements in the areas of Sant Francesc and La Pardala, two public squares that serve not only as viewpoint points or rest during the journey up to the Castle, but also for holding outdoor events or conferences.
With its consolidation and restoration, without making a change of activity or use in the area of action, it does improve accessibility to the area, with the possibility of enhancing and valuing as viewpoints.
Physical or other transformations
Innovative character
On the other hand, the new elements added for the maintenance of the factories have been sought to be functional and integrated with the existing factories. For example, the interior buttresses or retaining walls have been executed with lime concrete, with stainless steel and fibreglass reinforcement, giving it a rough texture achieved by means of shuttering with reeds and with a tonality (after multiple tests) similar to existing factories and walls.
In the same way, the carpentries are made of stainless steel with a titanium steam treatment that gives it an ochre and matte tone, which integrates very well with the factories without dirtying them in the future and minimizing their maintenance. This is the first time this treatment has been used in Spain for construction.
In the access ramp a pavement was used throughout the course of the dirt ramp stabilized with lime and rammed to which a watering with a polymer was applied.
For the sewing and sealing of cracks the injection mortar was manufactured using lime and sand. Stitching the crack with stainless steel and injection with epoxy resins.
For the factory recesses such as that of the wall of wall of wall of the adarve of Sant Francesc, the traditional technique of wall of “tapial” was used by reinforced lime concrete with fiberglass mesh.
Local Ulldecona stone, 8 cm thick limestone, serrated and flamed face finish has been used for the pavements. The roofs have been made with a resistant element formed by Iroko wooden joists, with water-repellent chipboard, natural cork insulation, waterproofing and lime concrete.
The blacksmithing has been made of matt stainless steel, receiving a slightly gold-tone titanium steam treatment the gates, grilles and windows, making them integrate with existing masonry.
Learning transferred to other parties
From the intervention criteria, the restoration has marked a turning point on how to act in the monumental complex, avoiding reinterpretations and mimetic reconstructions of the factories, leaving the record of the existing one as an original element in the state in which it is, maintaining the irregular physiognomy of its factories that mark the passage of time and that put in value the richness of its historical stratigraphy.
Therefore, from the point of view of the conservation of the whole, the intervention has marked a turning point on how to act to maintain the physiognomy in the state of ruin in which it finds itself, reintegrating the other elements that are necessary to add for its preservation and functionality.
The continuous search for the "truth" during the archaeological excavations has also been a key point in the decision-making on the interventions to be made, such as the appearance of the lime ovens or how the ramparts of the wall were originally built. All the previous interventions in the Castle were finished with continuous stone or concrete pavements, being actually found some wooden sleepers that evidenced the existence of a wooden footbridge, turning these interpretations into false historical. The fact of marking with "lagoons" of integrated lime concrete the absence of material, leave in evidence the original factories that will last in time.
The dissemination of the intervention has been carried out at both local and global levels. Locally, last August, in the auditorium of the City Council of Morella, an explanatory conference was given to the population (it was also broadcast on local television), made by the technical management to explain in detail the entire intervention process, from pre-implementation studies. Subsequently, several guided tours were carried out to show the results, and where the intervention was very well received by the local population.
