ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how the Plateresque operated in accord with the development of Hispanic urban culture, while simultaneously symbolizing the political and social agendas of Hispanic nobility. The facade’s development is contextualized as a form of visual rhetoric, a practice that was widespread throughout Europe. In sixteenth-century Spain, the design of palaces and their facades was characterized by an increasing interest in the application of new architectural practices that had parallels in other European locations, most famously in Italy. The remodeling of the Ayuntamiento relates to larger monarchical and communal programs to update important civic and political buildings during the sixteenth century. Such themes were popular in Plateresque art and are present in numerous other structures as well, including the facade of the Universidad de Salamanca. The chapter concludes by considering how the Montejos employed the Plateresque in their efforts to affirm their status as Yucatan’s governors.
