The oratory: a domestic space in urban houses in santa fe during the 17th and 18th centuries

Abstract

As of the 17th century the oratories developed according to the importance that the city had acquired by that time. when urban order and family stability were consolidating. Homes were subject to constant modifications throughout the 17th and 18th centuries and with growing frequency the homes of great personalities had oratories. Since oratories were considered sacred places that were part of domestic and profane architecture they were privileged and vital spaces in the development of urban life. There is evidence that the use of these spaces was not limited to the formal model used in the lberian península, because during its implementation its rituals and settings were influenced by and gradually merged with local uses and values in a cultural crossbreeding process.

Los oratorios se desarrollaron a partir del siglo xvii de acuerdo con la importancia que por entonces fue adquiriendo la ciudad, en cuyo seno se estaban consolidando el orden urbano y la estabilidad familiar. Las casas de habitación sufrieron permanentes modificaciones a lo largo de los siglos xvii y xviii, y las de los principales, incorporaron con mayor frecuencia el oratorio en su interior. Siendo reconocidos como lugares sagrados que hicieron parte de la arquitectura doméstica y profana, los oratorios fueron espacios privilegiados y vitales en el transcurrir de la vida urbana Se ha encontrado que, en el Nuevo Reino de Granada, los rituales y las costumbres en el uso de estos espacios no se limitaron al modelo formal utilizado en la península Ibérica, pues al implantarse éste en América, los rituales y sus escenarios se afectaron y se fusionaroncon usos y valores locales en un proceso de mestizaje cultural.