Towards a new public space concept in early modern age Teruel: since 16th to early 19th centuries

Abstract

Academic literature on Teruel urban development has mainly focused on two periods when analysing the city's historic centre morphology: the foundational Middle Ages and the reconstruction following the Spanish Civil War - well into the twentieth century. This article underlines the Early Modern era as a crucial period in the development of Teruel public space. I use written, graphic and archaeological sources to restore the historiographical mapping of the city. The article demonstrates the significant formal and conceptual transformation that Teruel public space underwent in that period, as the city went beyond the constricted limits of the medieval walls opening new horizons. These are key formative processes necessary to gain a proper understanding of the past, the present and the future of our cities.