Enriqueta Martín Consuegra | Tracing the Past: Flora in Andalusian Gardens

What did the gardens of Madinat al-Zahra smell like in the Caliphate period? What did the Patio de los Leones of the Alhambra look like in the 15th century? What was grown in the vegetable gardens of the Generalife or in the almunias and orchards of medieval Andalusia? Pollen and remains of fruits and seeds sleep buried under our soil until they see the light again. Like messages preserved in time capsules, plant species are waiting to be rediscovered by archaeobotanical researchers. Enriqueta Martín-Consuegra will show us how powerful this scientific discipline is for discovering our horticultural heritage and restoring the gardens of the Andalusian period.

HoJAS (Horticulture and Gardening in Andalusia from the VIII to the XVIII centuries)

Under the acronym HoJAS, FLORA and the University of Cordoba propose a series of conferences to disseminate knowledge and research on gardens, the species that were part of them and the significance of a millennium of flowers and orchards, between the beginning of the Andalusian period and the dawn of modern times.

We will delve into the historical reconstruction of these urban and rural spaces, their species and cultivars, uses, techniques and cultural conceptions that we are able to recover by four means: archaeopalynology, the preserved material heritage, the projection in art and the reflection in the very rich, although practically unexplored, handwritten documentation kept in the historical archives. Four perspectives to understand the same phenomenon, those of four specialists such as Enriqueta Martín-Consuegra, Francisco M. Espejo, Eduardo Barba and Antonio J. Díaz.

Historical botany, heritage conservation, pictorial analysis and documentary research are coordinated to weave the precious tapestry of a part of our past that is worth disseminating and valuing: our horticultural heritage.

All activities with the icon can be translated into sign language. For more information and booking please write to:
inclusivosydiversosilse@gmail.com