Diego de Siloe moves in 1528 from…
1534 CE
Diego de Siloe moves in 1528 from Burgos to Granada, where he bases his brilliant design for the cathedral there on the early fourth-century Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
For the rest of his life, Siloe will work in Granada, above all as an architect.
His arrival in the city marks the beginning of classicism in Andalusia.
He is commissioned to complete two previously projected projects: the church of the Monastery of Saint Jerome (burial place of the Fernández family of Córdoba, including the tomb of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, "El Gran Capitán") and the Granada Cathedral, which he will make into two of the outstanding buildings in the Renaissance style in Spain.
The monastery church is distinguished by the immense dome covering its central space, after the fashion of funerary buildings of Ancient Rome.
The elevations show references to the work of Filippo Brunelleschi, with large pillars fronted by Corinthian half-columns, matching the height of the naves, with a second body of supports over the entablature of the first.
Most outstanding is the Portada del Perdón ("Door of Pardon", around 1534) conceived as a great triumphal arch.
Its rich decoration and the energetic and fluid lines and curves of its interior are an early expression of the Plateresque in Spain.