Resumen de The Fort-Towers in La Rioja (Central-Northern Iberia): Conservation Status and Rehabilitations
The Ebro Valley of the Iberian Peninsula was throughout the Middle Ages (711-1482 CE) a space of struggles between Christians and Muslims first and among Christian kingdoms later. Despite the existence of a large number of disputes throughout the period, it also established a very heterogeneous space for exchanges of people, objects, cultures, heritage and societies. The two elements that structured the region were the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela on the one hand and defensive architecture on the other. In the Autonomous Community of La Rioja (Central-Northern Iberia), there were more than 130 examples of defensive architecture divided into eight typologies. Among them, fort-towers account for 30% of all buildings. They were especially common during the 14th century, although their construction takes place between the 11th and 15th centuries. From then on they became practically obsolete. Today there are only 18 left, of which only seven have undergone some kind of restoration, while the rest are likely to disappear. The objective of this paper is to study the restoration materials, the restoration campaigns that have been carried out and the enhancement of these seven buildings, five of which have been rehabilitated for private use and two as recreational spaces, giving them a second life so that they can be enjoyed by all of us.
