page_title: Puerta del Campo
section_title: 17th–19th centuries
hierarchical_section_title: Puerta del Campo / History / 17th–19th centuries
caption_attribution_description: English: Puerta del Campo just before its tear down.
context_page_description: Puerta del Campo was a city gate in Valladolid, Spain, named after the street that ran through it. Until at least the 18th century, it lent its name to the surrounding area.
context_section_description: Some local historians say that once the gate had ceased to serve as part of the city walls, it was demolished and replaced by the Arco de Santiago, built in 1626 by Francisco de Praves. In May 1628, a committee was formed to repair the arch and turret. These repairs were finished in September of that year. On November 20, de Praves, the regidor of the city, was instructed to look into the cost of commissioning two sculptures to decorate the arch: one depicting Jesus' resurrection and the other the Virgin Mary. There is no evidence that these sculptures were completed, but the record is of interest because it is the only one in which de Praves is associated with the arch. 
  In 1655, it was decided that the arch would be decorated with portraits of Our Lady of Saint Lawrence and the archangel Michael, to be finished in April 1656. These images would become permanent guards and decorations of the arch, first on canvas and later as sculptures. In the decades that followed, portraits of the reigning monarchs were painted on the arch: For example, in 1690, portraits of Charles II and his wife, Maria Anna of Neuburg, were painted, and in 1707, they were replaced by equestrian portraits of Philip V and Maria Luisa of Savoy.
  The appearance of the gate in the 18th century is documented in two works by the engraver Diego Pérez Martínez, one from 1759 and the second from 1788. In the first engraving, the arch is ornately decorated with trimmed plates and Baroque reliefs and plasterworks. On the keystone of the arch is a kind of mask, adorned with wreaths. The attic—flanked with balusters, large buttresses and pyramids, and topped with a pediment—houses the sculpture of the archangel Michael. In the second engraving, the decorations are much more severe, with some ornaments in recesses in the first section of the pilasters; however, the garland adorning the keystone is the same. It is not known exactly when the redecoration, which incorporated Neoclassical elements, took place. 
  In 1858, in honor of a visit by Isabel II and the royal family, the arch was stuccoed and decorated with shields and inscriptions depicting men of Valladolid and the Spanish monarchs named Alfonso. Isabel II visited again in 1861, and this may have been the last time the arch was decorated for such an event. 
  Ultimately, the arch was demolished because of its location just off Calle de Santiago—where traffic had increased significantly, especially after the opening of a railway—and because it and the adjacent walls spanned the entire width of the street. Plans for a new street alignment also contributed to the decision. The first calls for demolition came in early 1864, and the decision was approved in June. Demolition began on August 29, 1864, and was completed on September 14.
  The sculptures decorating the arch were commissioned by the city council to the local archbishop, and by him to the parson of Santiago. Nothing is known of what happened to the sculpture of the Virgin Mary, but the sculpture of the archangel Michael was relocated to the church of Santiago's baptistery. In 2013, it was moved to the choir area, where it can be seen from the nave.
caption: Puerta del Campo just before its demolition.
exif: {"Image Software": "Google"}