Spain - Turó de la Seu Vella de Lleida

The Turó de la Seu Vella of Lleida has been explained as a landscape of memory, a monumental landmark and a heritage located in an urban void. The complex, in the heart of the city of Lleida, on a promontory which geographically centers a large alluvial plain, presents three architectural elements that make up the most significant and symbolic heritage of the interior lands of Catalonia. The Turó brings together the identity and the will of survival of the city and its surroundings, and its strategic position makes it an inescapable historical reference of the crown of Aragon in the medieval time as well as the formation of the European States to the modern era. The most valuable element that gives its name to the place is the Seu Vella, the old cathedral of the city, last great temple of Romanesque art, majestic and harmonious example of the changing architecture of the XIII century and compendium of the sculptural tradition of southern Europe. Its 14th century Gothic cloister, the largest at the time, is located exceptionally at the foot of the church, with a wonderful light-looking belvedere (S-SW), watching the city in dialogue with the river and the rivers. orchards, which gives him his personality. A steeple at the far end of the tower became a monument and an icon without equal. The cathedral has also had an exceptional trajectory: at the beginning of the 18th century it ceased to be a cathedral and became a sad military barracks for more than 250 years. It was emptied, walled and compartmentalized, and finally became a prison camp during the last war. The disappearance of the surrounding natural urban site, the medieval Gothic Quarter, makes it even more prominent and makes it stand out clearly from the profile of the city. It is recovered in the middle of the 20th century, little by little, as a monument of public property, cultural and civic space.