Patio History

It is a known fact that the patios of Spain are, as a rule, more beautiful and sumptuous than those of Latin America, but the latter have the attractiveness of their tropical flowers which remind one strongly of those of Andalusia, filled with the delicate perfumes of orange-trees and carnations.

The patios of Castile, Leon and Aragon are serious and magnificent in the old manorial houses as well as in the castles, and those of Andalusia are so extremely beautiful that they can never be cast into oblivion once a person has seen them.

In some cities, such as Seville, the patios are, in truth, their glory and pride, and there are some worthy, indeed, of the traditions of the Arabs, being so beautiful and attractive that it is still said in Spain that when a wealthy person of Seville would have a house built he would order the architect as follows: “Make me a patio, and with what is left, a house.” And thus the Spanish patios have become famous the world over. They combine the peace and silence of the monastic cloisters with the pagan gaiety and beauty of the Arabic and Pompeian yards.

Transplanted Patios

You will undoubtedly  understand why in all Latin America the patios constitute the most interesting themes and current topics of the day.

The Spanish conquerors and colonizers settled in America from California to the extreme South. Even today in the old cities on the Pacific Coast Americans are able to find vestiges of these patios.

Those of Mexico, Cuba and other Latin American countries remind us of the Spanish patios. They are generally made of rubblework, are whitewashed, and their pavement is made of brick.

Those of Spain have the columns of the gallery made of marble and in the walls of the interior of the gallery high friezes of Mooresque glazed tile, of vivid colors, precious drawings and iridescent reflections open to the light of the sun and moon, which can easily reach them.

In the center of the Spanish patio there is nearly always a well with artistic ironwork, and in those of Andalusia a fountain around which flowers and plants grow profusely.

In the patios of America there are flowers, too, and fountains, the latter being of Oriental origin and design.

These patios of classic Spanish architecture are reached from the street by the zaguan or corridor which is closed with a magnificent front door grating of iron.

Across the patio, in front of this entrance, is located another grating leading to the garden which extends itself behind the house.

When the house has a top floor, the stairway on one of the sides of the gallery leads one to the interior of the building, without detracting from the beauty of the patio.

This form of stairway, however, is rather an adaptation, made previously by the Spaniards themselves in the colonies, than the classic manner of developing the stairs in the native country. So it may truthfully be stated that the Spanish houses of Latin America have their origin in the Far East, having gone through a period of development in Greece and Pompeii, and having been inspired as well by the Arabic influence, which in Spain has left such wonderful works of art as the Alhambra of Granada and the Alcazar of Seville, these being in truth the realiza’tion of the Arabian Nights in all their glorious splendor of a phantasy lit by the legendary torch of Mahomet, for which the most celebrated artisans of India. Bagdad and Damascus came,—to finally reach the world of Columbus where their peculiar beauty is reproduced under the golden rays of the tropical sun and the moonlit nights of the western latitudes, in the midst of the splendors and sublimity of Mother Nature, astonishingly luxuriant.