UNESCO on Úbeda and Baeza
The start of the 16th century was the time when the area went through particularly momentous changes. Under the influence of the emerging Renaissance and the new humanistic ideas from Italy, the renovation of the towns produced what UNESCO calls “the greatest Renaissance architecture ensemble in Spain and one of the most important in Europe.”
Earlier history of these two small Andalusian cities has roots in Roman settlements, centuries later followed by the conquest by the Moors. During what is known is Spain as the Reconquista the Christian kings gradually reconquered the region, with the last Moorish stronghold in nearby Granada falling in 1492.
According to UNESCO, the two towns are early examples in Spain of the introduction of the Italian Renaissance design criteria. Furthermore, their considerable influence in Latin America has been well documented. The introduction of Renaissance interventions in an urban area originating from an Islamic period is also of interest.
The coexistence of cultures (Christian, Islamic and Jewish), says UNESCO, favoured freedom and opening up to other influences, contributing an originality of artistic expression with great implications in Latin America.