Spanish Architecture of the Golden Age

There are several problems for writing a new and brief history of Spanish architecture of the Golden Age: first, the flexibility of its chronology in relation to political events or literary, artistic, or architectural achievements and second, the weight of the historiographical tradition and its search for a unique and impossible Golden Age style. The complexity of early modern Spanish society and its diversified contacts with other European regions do not allow for this determination. Spanish clients tried to build according to Castilian or Aragonese traditions or intended to present themselves according to what they thought of as the French, Roman, or Italian fashion. Departing from the historiographical tradition, we have tried in this chapter to give back to architects and clients their own words, formal discrimination, and specific intentions. They may be contradictory, but that would reflect a plural and conflictive society.