The Tower of San Pedro in Ocaña (1796-1826). Master Builders and Architects of the Academy Facing Restoration Practice

Abstract

The tower of San Pedro in Ocaña (Toledo) was the subject of an extensive series of projects involving the architects Ignacio Haan, Miguel Antonio de Marichalar, Juan Antonio Cuervo, and Leonardo Clemente. With the appointment of these Fellows of the Academy to oversee the works of the Archdiocese of Toledo, the master builders who had traditionally been responsible for the conservation of the temples were relegated to a subordinate role. Their profound mastery of construction techniques, which underpinned a conservative approach focused on preserving the organic balance of the structures, would still prove decisive in the complex solution finally adopted for the San Pedro tower, similar to the one implemented for the Salamanca Cathedral tower after the Lisbon earthquake of 1755. The plans and descriptions made during these interventions around the Peninsular War have allowed us to understand the complete appearance of the tower, which was demolished along with the rest of the church in 1906. In the engraving of the Battle of Ocaña by Adolphe Roehn and in the watercolours of Louis Harmois, intended to commemorate the French victory, the relevance of the bell tower as an urban landmark is clear. This would had immediate continuity in its selection as a stationing point in the first campaign for the creation of the geological map of Spain in 1850.