Misplaced Pages

#946053

51-452: Chinchón's Plaza Mayor is an example of popular architecture. The first houses with arcades and balconies were built in the 15th century, and it was completely closed in the 17th century. [REDACTED] It has an irregular shape in plan with a simple and orderly structure in elevation. The buildings have three floors, with lintelled galleries and 234 wooden balconies called claros , supported by upright wooden pillars. Since its construction,

102-497: A monastery is a secluded community of monastics, whereas a friary or convent is a community of mendicants (which, by contrast, might be located in a city), and a canonry is a community of canons regular . The terms abbey and priory can be applied to both monasteries and canonries; an abbey is headed by an abbot , and a priory is a lesser dependent house headed by a prior . In the Middle Ages , convents often provided to women

153-552: A Diploma of Honour and a gold medal in the Exposition Universelle of 1889 and 1900 respectively, and becoming Royal Purveyors to Queen Regent Maria Cristina . The society engaged in a series of public works that brought back development and culture, this time on the basis of productive activities and run by civil society. They created infrastructure for water, building fountains for farmers, but also as picnic areas. They introduced public lighting, sewage, and contributed to

204-622: A castle and a palace, where they were visited multiple times by the royal family, which attracted a court and boosted the development of the town. In 1520, during the Revolt of the Comuneros , the Dominion was made a County, which brought Chinchón to a higher level of development through the investments made by nobility. Many of the larger constructions that we see today were built within the first hundred years after this date. The main church that now dominates

255-506: A corral in Torralba de Calatrava , which the municipality wished to rebuild in 2006. The theatre type specific to Spain, was extended to Mexico when a corral de comedias was built in Tecali de Herrera around 1540. The corrales present some parallels to Elizabethan theatre where productions were held in galleried inns. The George Inn, Southwark is a partially surviving example of such

306-514: A humanistic training center where theology , grammar and Latin were taught. After the confiscation of Mendizábal , in 1842, it became a court and prison for the judicial district . In the 20th century, the District and Investigation Courts were established. Its dependencies today make up the Parador and, in the case of the church, the hermitage of Nuestra Señora del Rosario. It was founded in 1653 by

357-657: A remedy for malaria was found in Peru (where malaria was not endemic), quinine . This was an extract from the bark of a tree, which was named Chinchona in honour of the Countess, who allegedly had tried it on herself to recover from the illness. In 1706 the county was directly involved in the War of the Spanish Succession . King Phillip V , the father of the Count, visited the city staying in

408-493: A strong resemblance to southern European cities, given its Portuguese origin. Spanish film makers have also chosen this town for a long list of titles, including Carlos Saura 's Deprisa deprisa , Pedro Almodovar 's Matador or Alejandro Amenabar 's While at War . In May 2021 it was announced that Wes Anderson had started building a huge diorama set in Chinchón, and that a large crew would be spending several months in

459-565: A structure. As well as similarities as regards the type of buildings used, there were similarities in the subject matter of the plays: Spanish literature was translated into English in Shakespeare's time, and in 1613 his company mounted a lost play called Cardenio which appears to have been based on an episode in Don Quixote . Although Shakespeare was not translated into Spanish until the eighteenth century, his work has since been performed in

510-585: A superior or prior. In modern English usage, since about the 19th century, the term convent almost invariably refers to a community of women, while monastery and friary are used for communities of men. In historical usage they are often interchangeable, with convent especially likely to be used for a friary. When applied to religious houses in Eastern Orthodoxy and Buddhism , English refers to all houses of male religious as monasteries and of female religious as convents. The mendicant orders appeared at

561-427: A way to excel, as they were considered inferior to men. In convents, women were educated and were able to write books and publish works on gardening or musicology. or on religion and philosophy. The abbess of a convent was often also involved in decisions of secular life and interacted with politicians and businessmen. Unlike an abbey , a convent is not placed under the responsibility of an abbot or an abbess, but of

SECTION 10

#1732883511947

612-557: Is a ruined 15th century castle with a triangular plan near the river Tajuña . It has a stone bridge and several towers. In the 19th century it served as a base politicians and military who were favourable to Alfonso XII of Spain . It is in Gothic style and is now privately owned. The fertile valley of the Tajuña river, and the Alcarria plains that dominate it from high up, have been inhabited from

663-578: Is particularly used in the Catholic Church , Lutheran churches , and the Anglican Communion . The term convent derives via Old French from Latin conventus , perfect participle of the verb convenio , meaning "to convene, to come together". It was first used in this sense when the eremitical life began to be combined with the cenobitical. The original reference was to the gathering of mendicants who spent much of their time travelling. Technically,

714-464: The Neolithic period, with multiple remains found in the many natural caves emerging from the slopes either side of the valley. Iberian villages and necropolis were formed from around the 6th century, as demonstrated e.g. by the excavations of Cerro del Salitral. In Roman times farming became a well organized activity, judging by the roads and irrigation system that remain. The area was controlled from

765-464: The corrales : the mozo , maintainer of order, equipped with a big garrote to calm the excited spectator, and the "spacer", that is, the one in charge of finding a suitable place for an individual in between two others. The first regulation on the operation of corrals was published by the Royal Council of Castile for the corrales of Madrid, later extended to the whole kingdom. Among its provisions,

816-548: The Spanish town to produce his upcoming film, Asteroid City . Corral de comedias Corral de comedias ( lit.   ' theatrical courtyard ' ) is a type of open-air theatre specific to Spain. In Spanish all secular plays were called comedias , which embraced three genres: tragedy , drama , and comedy itself. During the Spanish Golden Age , corrals became popular sites for theatrical presentations in

867-452: The V Count of Chinchón , Don Francisco Fausto Fernández de Cabrera. The features of Spanish Baroque architecture are well defined, following the style of Juan de Herrera . The building is very austere, using materials such as brick and hand-sized stonework. The Pantheon of the V Counts of Chinchón is made of marble and is located in the choir of the Convent church. It was restored in 1995. It

918-714: The World in Eighty Days , the main square was the set for a comic bullfight scene on the Spanish leg of the journey, featuring Cantinflas as an unlikely matador , and most of the actual population of Chinchón as the audience. In 1961 a crowd of 7,000 local extras were recruited in Chinchón - and the neighbouring villages - for the Sermon on the Mount scene in Samuel Bronston 's production of King of Kings , directed by Nicholas Ray , shot on

969-485: The advent of "new enlightened governments" during the reign of Philip V , some corrales were closed due to hygiene issues, risk of fire or disorder. With the arrival of a bourgeois class who did not want to watch the plays in awkward spaces such as these, larger theatrical structures were constructed, which required confined spaces and specific acoustic treatment. During the Spanish Golden Age, any theatrical event

1020-562: The architect Juan de Palazuelo in 1982 and after being donated by the Chinchón city council to the State. The first convent of Augustinians was founded at the end of the 15th century by Andrés de Cabrera and Beatriz de Bobadilla . The current one was built around 1626. During the War of the Succession the Archduke Charles of Austria stayed in it. During the 18th and 19th centuries it was

1071-476: The basis of its agricultural and cultural development. In 1974 Chinchón was declared a Heritage Site with regulations for conservation focused on the use of original or traditional materials and building methods for every construction within its perimeter, as well as the protection of the main buildings. Currently the town is listed as one of Los Pueblos Más Bonitos de España (The most beautiful towns in Spain), being

SECTION 20

#1732883511947

1122-667: The best masters who had worked in El Escorial . In 1808 the French troops set the church on fire, and it was restored twenty years later. The current church combines the styles Gothic , Plateresque , Renaissance and Baroque . It is worth highlighting, in the centre of the main altarpiece , the magnificent painting of the Assumption of the Virgin painted around 1812 by the hand of Francisco de Goya , commissioned by his brother Camilo, chaplain of

1173-601: The building's architecture. The last known such courtyard theatre to be built in Spain, Corral de comedias de Almagro , in Almagro , Castile-La Mancha , is a purpose-built theater that dates to 1628. This only functioning courtyard theater still standing, once one among the many, annually celebrates the Festival Internacional de Teatro Clásico (International Classical Theatre Festival); There are recently found remains of

1224-619: The city was stormed and looted again, this time by the Napoleonic troops during the Spanish War of Independence .The parish church was destroyed, leaving the empty space next to its tower, which still stands today. The palace was mostly destroyed, with the exception of the church, which currently acts as parish church - the theatre now stands on part of the palace grounds. The castle was severely damaged, losing its first floor, as can be seen today. The Counts had already lost interest in Chinchón before

1275-459: The corrales; for example in 2016, which saw the quatercentenary of the deaths of Cervantes and Shakespeare, there were Shakespearean productions in Amalgro and Alcalá de Henares. The stage was installed at one end of the court, against the back wall. In front of the stage was the outdoor patio at the end of which sat the so-called musketeers. The balconies and windows of the adjoining houses formed

1326-400: The counts. This tower was part of the old parish church of Nuestra Señora de Gracia, built before the 15th century. The church itself was destroyed by napoleonic troops in 1808. The void left by the missing building is now a small garden called El Mirador (the lookout), the surface of which is built on top of the debris caused by the destruction of the church, completely buried at the foot of

1377-408: The early 16th century when the theatre took on a special importance in the country. The performance was held in the afternoon and lasted two to three hours, there being no intermission, and few breaks. The entertainment was continuous, including complete shows with parts sung and danced. All spectators were placed according to their sex and social status. In modern times, the first buildings devoted to

1428-456: The end of the ridge running along the northern part of the village of our days, above the present day Plaza mayor . Some of the ramparts are still visible, although it is difficult to distinguish the original stone walls from later reconstructions, or even from earlier Roman works. Chinchón became a part of Castile in October 1139 when Alphonse VII took it for his Christian Kingdom. Initially it

1479-480: The financing of the railway to Madrid, which was in operation until the 1960s. Beyond infrastructural works, major works of the society included the restoration of the main square, completing some of the buildings and giving it the formal function of an arena, as well as building the Theatre on the grounds of the former palace. This brought new prosperity to the town, which in 1916 was declared a city by King Alphonse XIII on

1530-632: The house now called Casa de la Cadena (House of the Chain) opposite the Parador - the chain is a traditional sign marking houses where a king has stayed. The population gathered on the main square and acclaimed the King, declaring full allegiance. Five months later the opposing side stormed and looted the town, finding strong resistance. In the end, Phillip V was the victor of that war, and thanked Chinchón by establishing its motto The very Noble and Very Loyal as well as facilitating investments for reconstruction. In 1808

1581-505: The imperial troops of the Marquis de la Mina besieged and after a fire. Later, in the Spanish War of Independence in 1808, the troops under General Victor also carried out plunder and burned the castle. Its last use was as a liquor factory in the 20th century, as well as serving as a film set in many occasions. It currently houses the Parador of Chinchón, after having been rebuilt and restored by

Chinchón - Misplaced Pages Continue

1632-512: The men of the common public who sat in the patio from the sun, avoiding contrast between sunlit and shaded areas, such as was found on stage and in the courtyard. That probably also improved the acoustics of the venue, avoiding straining the voices of actors. This provision was similar to the Elizabethan theatres from the same period in England. In the earlier built corrals, there were no toilets: with

1683-417: The military garrison of nearby Titulcia , which allowed for multiple small settlements to sprout along the valley and on the edges of the plains. The area was part of Islamic Spain or Al-Andalus for three and a half centuries, from the first conquest in the 8th century until the mid 12th century. The town of Chinchón itself was founded in this period, approximately in the year 1000. It was a small citadel at

1734-646: The only town in the Community of Madrid in that list. In the 1950s Chinchón started to attract film-makers and, as of 2021, the Internet Movie Database lists 32 feature films mentioning Chinchón as their location. A first major production was the 1953 French-Spanish film La belle de Cadix , where the Castilian town was portrayed as an Andalusian village. Two years later, in Michael Anderson 's Around

1785-424: The purpose from the end of the sixteenth century, called corrales de comedias, which used the open-air enclosed rectangular courtyard typical of a block of houses. Playwrights and dramatists such as Lope de Vega , Juan Pérez de Montalbán , Tirso de Molina , and Pedro Calderón de la Barca created works which were performed in corrales de comedias. The first permanent theater of this type, Corral de la Cruz ,

1836-491: The quarters reserved for men and women of nobility. In Madrid, above the cazuela , were the quarters of the councilors and other authorities, such as the chairman of the Council of Castile . On the upper floors were the desvanes (attics), very small quarters, among which stood the tertulia of the church and a second cazuela. The stage and lateral galleries were protected by an overhang. An awning , hung from hooks, protected

1887-761: The rocky hills around the Castilian town. In Henry Hathaway 's Circus World (1963) the Wild West scenes were filmed in Chinchón, while the Europe scenes were shot in the nearby city of Aranjuez , as well as in Madrid and Barcelona. Orson Welles first arrived in Chinchón in 1965 to film several scenes of Chimes at Midnight . He rented a house and lived in the small town for long periods. The following year he started filming The Immortal Story in Chinchon, which he combined with Pedraza to portray old Macau , an Asian location with

1938-406: The second half of the 16th century. Its appearance is in line with Renaissance architecture. Robust and very horizontal, it sought to avoid enemy artillery fire. The sloping walls are intended to make access difficult for sappers . The castle was abandoned in the 18th century after being the residence of the counts. The War of the Spanish Succession marked the beginning of its final deterioration as

1989-402: The square has hosted numerous activities: royal festivals, proclamations, theatre ( corral de comedias ), games, bullfights , executions, autos sacramentales , religious political and military events, in addition to serving as a film set (e.g. the bullfighting scene of the film Around the World in Eighty Days ). In 1992 a referendum was called on the question of recovering the blue colour that

2040-511: The square wore since the 17th century until recent times, as proposed by the architect Salvador Pérez Arroyo. The Chinchoneses approached the City Council to vote in an informal referendum in which the colour green triumphed, since it was the colour that the inhabitants had always known in their lifetime. Its construction began in 1534 as a chapel attached to the Count's palace with a Gothic architecture project, by Alonso de Covarrubias , and it

2091-424: The theatre in Spain appeared in the 16th century. Representations of comedias were instead held in the courtyard of houses or inns where a stage with background scenery was improvised along one of the sides. The three remaining sides served as public galleries to the wealthy, with the remaining spectators watching the play from the open courtyard. The courtyard structure was maintained in permanent theatres built for

Chinchón - Misplaced Pages Continue

2142-481: The tower. The tower and its bells are still used for its traditional function, such as tolling on the passing of neighbours, or to announce religious acts and events. It also has a civil use since 1755 when a clock was installed, and still today chimes at the hours and half-hours. It was built at the end of the 15th century, although it was destroyed during the Revolt of the Comuneros in 1520. The 3rd Count of Chinchón, Diego Fernández de Cabrera, decided to rebuild it in

2193-603: The village was concluded as part of the Count's Palace complex. The castle was rebuilt from the ground, after severe damage during the revolt. The monastery of the Clarisas was endowed and built. In 1629 the Counts were made Viceroys of Peru , which attracted a larger court to Chinchón. Many of the Italian and Flemish names that are still present in the population, such as Dusmet or del Nero go back to that period. During their viceroyalty,

2244-476: The war, having moved to their other domains in Boadilla del Monte , and this destruction seemed to be fatal for the future of the city, with no investments made by its nobility over several decades. A new development occurred in 1845, when all the producers of wine, vinegar and alcohol in the municipality created a society called Sociedad de Cosecheros . This cooperative entity was successful as an enterprise, winning

2295-590: Was a subsidiary locality of Segovia, governed by a medieval organization of Segovia nobility, the Quiñones , a combination of military order and agricultural enterprise designed to control frontier lands while keeping them in production. In 1480, it was granted as a Dominion to the Marquises of Moya, Andrés de Cabrera and Beatriz de Bobadilla , who were closely related to the Monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand . They built

2346-453: Was approximately four to six hours, structured in six different rounds: the first act or loa , the opening round, then an appetizer, the second round, the masquerade or jácaras , a third round and the final act. Men and women could not sit together; men occupied the courtyard, side stands, the benches or the central stands, and the women watched the performance from their cazuelas above. The only place where they were allowed to be together

2397-505: Was constructed in Madrid in 1579. The number of theaters increased rapidly after 1600, responding to the public's enthusiasm for this new form of entertainment. The oldest surviving corral, albeit significantly altered, is the Corral de comedias de Alcalá de Henares . This corral , formerly a courtyard theatre, has been roofed and used as a teatro romántico and a cinema, leading to major changes in

2448-488: Was finished in 1626, after a forty-eight year halt in the works. The counts of Chinchón would only finance the church with three conditions, namely: having a privileged view at mass, displaying the county coats of arms on the main façade and that all the counts would be buried in the church, below the altar; and it took forty-eight years for the agreement to be established. Diego Fernández de Cabrera, third Count of Chinchón and steward of Felipe II and his Council of State, hired

2499-476: Was in the chamber corridors. Children were not allowed to attend. The audience paid fees at different points: at the entrance, then a tip to the "brotherhood" or beneficiary, and a third one for the privilege of a seat so they could watch the play comfortably. The theatrical company rarely received as much as 20% of the total. In university towns, it was forbidden to perform on weekdays, so the students would not be distracted. Two characters were instantly recognized in

2550-438: Was known as comedia . The public came in masses for entertainments like this, whether comedy, drama or tragedy. The season of performances usually began on Easter Sunday, ending on Ash Wednesday. Smoking was forbidden because of the risk of fire, and from October to April the comedia began at two in the afternoon, in the spring at three and at four during summer, in order for all to finish before sunset. The performance's duration

2601-401: Was the presence of a bailiff whose function was to ensure that no noise, tumults, or scandals ensued and that men and women were kept separated in their respective seating by the required entrances and exits. Convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks , nuns , friars or religious sisters . Alternatively, convent means the building used by the community. The term

SECTION 50

#1732883511947
#946053