96 PATRIMONIO NACIONAL

El castillo-palacio de los condes de Benavente en estado avanzado de ruina (1890), utilizado como cantera de materiales de construcción. La Torre del Caracol se sitúa en el extremo izquierdo.

The castle-palace of the Counts of Benavente in an advanced state of ruin (1890), used as a quarry for construction materials. The Caracol Tower is located on the far left.

The Caracol Tower, with its bartizans –angular cylindrical sentry boxes-, is today the only architectural trace of a monumental construction that occupied the hill of La Mota, in Benavente.

Only the foundations remain of that castle, converted into ruins awaiting archeological excavations. How was this possible? The metamorphosis of the monument could only be propitiated by the successive and dissimilar uses to which it was destined over time -from the initial defensive purpose to the current hotel-. The castle’s history begins in times of repopulation when Fernando II of León ordered the construction of a fortress and a walled enclosure to shelter the settlers. Its first transformation took place in the 14th century, following the granting of the County of Benavente which turned the fortification into the habitual residence of the Pimentel lineage and the town into a royal estate. In the next century, the medieval defensive construction became obsolete and was transformed into a castle-palace with extensive

Piso superior de la Torre del Caracol, de doble altura y cubierto con artesonado mudéjar-trasladado del ábside del convento de San Román del Valle y ampliado de forma mimética para compatibilizar la transición, en su nueva ubicación, de la planta octogonal a la cuadrangular-. Murales de Juan Carlos Guerra (1972), con temática medieval. Upper fl oor of the Caracol Tower, with double-height and covered with Mudejar coff ered ceiling - transferred from the apse of the convent of San Román del Valle and enlarged in a mimetic way to make compatible the transition, in its new location, from the octagonal to the quadrangular fl oor plan. Murals by Juan Carlos Guerra (1972), with medieval themes.

castillo-palacio, con extensos jardines y el bosque, para la práctica del deporte cinegético. Se iniciaba así un largo periodo de esplendor que se vio truncado, en el siglo XVII, por el mandato real de traslado de la residencia habitual de los condes a la Corte. Al abandono siguió el inevitable deterioro que, en la Guerra de la Independencia, se agudizó con un devastador incendio –el edifi cio quedaba reducido a sus muros–.

A fi nales del siglo XIX, el inmueble, convertido en ruina romántica, permanecía en el patrimonio de los Osuna, herederos de los Pimentel, pero la quiebra económica familiar obligó a su enajenación en pública subasta. A partir de entonces, se materializaba la transformación más traumática –debida a la ausencia de uso–, comenzando el desmontaje progresivo de sus restos arquitectónicos para la extracción de materiales de construcción y reutilización en las obras de las viviendas vecinales o municipales. La declaración de monumento histórico-artístico de 1931 llegó tarde y la ruina solo se vio frenada con la asignación de un nuevo uso, el hotelero.

Fue entonces cuando la reutilización hotelera de la torre superviviente supuso la adaptación de sus restos y la reconstrucción de nuevas estructuras sobre los cimientos del castillo. Esta nueva transformación aplicaba una fórmula de gestión del patrimonio que compatibilizaba la salvaguarda de los pocos restos conservados con un uso sobrevenido productivo –reinvertible en su preservación–. En cualquier caso, la historia ha demostrado largamente que el mantenimiento en uso de los edifi cios es condición necesaria –y conveniente– para su conservación a largo plazo.

Inauguración del parador, el 8 de abril de 1972. Alfredo Sánchez Bella, ministro de Información y Turismo -con gafas de pasta, es el tercero por la derecha- y Manuel Sainz de Vicuña y García-Prieto, marqués de Alhucemas, arquitecto de la obra -conversa con el ministro, a su derecha-. Inauguration of the Parador, April 8, 1972. Alfredo Sánchez Bella, Minister of Information and Tourism -with horn-rimmed glasses, he is third from the right- and Manuel Sainz de Vicuña y García-Prieto, Marquis of Alhucemas, architect of the work -conversing with the minister, on his right.

Planta baja de la Torre del Caracol, presidida por la lámpara que tiene la leyenda “REGIS+FERNANDI+HISPANIA+”, (c. 1972). La decoración del parador utiliza el leitmotiv de Fernando II de León, en contraposición a su primitivo propietario, solo presente en una testimonial copia del retrato velazqueño del X conde de Benavente. Fuente: CDTE. Ground fl oor of the Caracol Tower, presided over by the chandelier bearing the legend "REGIS+FERNANDI+HISPANIA+", (c. 1972). The decoration of the Parador uses the leitmotif of Fernando II de León, as opposed to its primitive owner, only present in a testimonial copy of the Velázquez portrait of the 10th Count of Benavente. Source: CDTE.

gardens and a forest suited to the practice of hunting sports. Thus began a long period of splendor that was cut short, in the 17th century, by the royal order to transfer the usual residence of the counts to the Court. Dereliction was followed by inevitable decline which, in the War of Independence, was exacerbated by a devastating fire that reduced the building to its walls. By the end of the 19th century the structure, which had become a romantic ruin, remained in the possession of the Osuna family, heirs of the Pimentel, but their economic bankruptcy forced them to sell the castle at public auction. From then on, the most traumatic transformation -due to the absence of use- would materialize with the progressive dismantling of the architectural remains to extract construction materials to be reused in private or municipal buildings. Its declaration as a historical-artistic monument, in 1931, came late. Destruction was only stopped by finding a new use for the castle as a hotel. This new use for the surviving tower involved the adaptation of its remains and the reconstruction of new structures on the foundations, applying a heritage management formula that made compatible the safeguarding of the few preserved remains with a profitable use -reinvestable in their preservation-. In any case, history has long demonstrated that maintaining buildings in use is a necessary - and desirable - condition for their long-term preservation.