My friend, photographer Kelly
Lawlor, was invited to judge this year’s Open Patio competition in Vejer, a process
which involved taking a lot of photos. I was delighted to accompany her and her
fellow judge Sol Sánchez de Muniain on their inspection of some of Vejer’s
prettiest outdoor spaces. You can see Kelly’s
marvellous photos on this page.
Although in
Britain, we describe a paved outdoor space adjoining a house as a patio, the
Andalucían patio is quite different. It is an outdoor room within the walls of
a house, and traditionally, it was left open to the sky.
Although the
Romans are often credited with inventing the patio, its origins go further
back, to Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Patios were originally used for
keeping cattle safe from thieves, and this type of indoor enclosure can still
be seen in parts of Turkey and Syria, as well as Afghanistan.
As time went by,
however, the patio became an outdoor utility area and later blossomed into a
space for leisure and recreation. The large and beautiful patios of the
Alhambra at Granada are the most perfect of examples of this type, which, until
comparatively recently, was only found in the houses of the wealthy.
These patios
linked indoors and outdoors by a series of elegant archways, giving a protected
walkway. Stairs to the first floor were usually outdoors. In general,
living accommodation was provided on the first floor with storage and utility
areas beneath.
Even a decorative
patio, however, has an important function. Scholars of environmental
architecture have described how perfectly the patio works to control
temperatures in hot and arid countries. The patio, ventilated by small openings
at ground floor level, allows the accumulated heat of the house to rise, acting
as a kind of chimney in reverse.
The flowers,
shrubs and fountains which are often found in patios also have a job to do.
They cool the air and provide a pleasant shade in which to rest or work. A
traditional patio house is many times more economical to run than an
air-conditioned tower block, and uses fewer environmental resources.
Here in Vejer, we
have three different types of patio. The first type, at the centre of a house,
conforms to the description above. The Casa del Mayorazgo, the Palacio
Castrillón and The Casa de las Viudas are good examples, though Vejer has many
others. Although they are now in multiple occupation, these were once great
houses, owned by wealthy families. The Casa del Mayorazgo is typical of the
larger houses in having two patios, one for utilities and one for relaxation.
The second type of patio, mainly
found in the Province of Cadiz, is the ‘Patio de Vecinos’, the
shared patios in which many of us have our homes. In generally, they are
a
nineteenth century invention, though my friend Virginia Almazo tells me
that
this system of space-sharing was first used in North Africa.
Unlike the elegant and symmetrical house
patios, these come in all shapes and sizes and exist for a variety of reasons.
One of the most common is the conversion of larger houses into smaller units,
and especially, as the need to keep animals on the patio diminished, the
conversion of stables and outhouses into living accommodation. Some, however,
were purpose-built with the intention of squeezing the maximum accommodation
into an unpromising space. Very few are symmetrical and some seem downright
zany – nevertheless, behind the white walls and barred windows, some beautiful
houses and apartments have been created.
The third
type is the 'patio moderno', which takes the form of a small paved or
planted garden outside a house, and these are usually fond in the new housing developments at Buenavista, San Miguel and La Noria.
Vejer’s patios
were traditionally occupied by labourers and other low-paid families, many of
whom also owned a country house, only visiting the town for special occasions. Nineteenth-
century life on a communal patio must have been demanding. Rooms were
small, and most families enjoyed no more than two. Cooking and washing were done
out of doors all year round, using huge, leaded pots which can’t have done much
for the family’s health.
The patio was the
preserve of the women and children, as well as dogs, cats and donkeys – men
stayed out of the way, either working or gathering in bars and clubs. Until
recently, a‘retrete’ in the corner provided toilet facilities and baths were
often enjoyed outside too, probably using water drawn from the ‘aljibe’ or
underground water cistern which provided all but drinking water.
Social
relationships were sometimes strained, especially when someone took it upon
themselves to reprove another woman’s child. The staircases were clogged up
with courting couples and when our Andalucían rain came down, people had to
manage as best they could. Nevertheless, it was commonly said that ‘the wealth
of the house is in the patio’.
As the twentieth
century advanced, the number of dwellings in each patio declined, apartments
became bigger and bathrooms and kitchens came indoors. It was time to exploit
the restorative potential of the patios and residents began to create the
beautiful and floral spaces which had previously existed only in the houses of
the wealthy. The first Open Patio competition was held in 1992 and has grown
more popular every year.
I asked Kelly how
she found her first experience of patio judging.
‘Well,’ she said,
‘you see a lot of geraniums…’ She told me that she had been impressed by the
variety of the different patios and by the ability of Vejer vecinos to create small
paradises out of almost nothing.
‘It was the
everyday items that touched me,’ she said, ‘the birds, the brooms, the neatly
stored bicycles. It’s a triumph of the human spirit.’
Vejer's patios will be open to the public for the rest of this week. The results of
the patio competition will be announced at the Teatro San Franciso on Saturday
May 31st at 8 p.m.
If you would like
to read more about Vejer’s patios, I recommend ‘Los Patios de Vecinos de Vejer
de la Frontera’ by Jesús Melero Callado Manuel, available at the library in
Vejer.
No comments:
Post a Comment