When the Catholic Monarchs visited Santiago de Compostela in 1486, they realised that the city needed a hospital to care for the sick pilgrims arriving via the Camino de Santiago. For this reason, they commissioned the construction of a hospital, which began in 1501 and was entrusted to the architect Enrique Egas. This magnificent building has, since 1954, housed the Parador Nacional de Turismo, \u201cHostal dos Reis Cat\u00f3licos\u201d. In 1931, it was declared a Historic\u2013Artistic Monument.<\/p>\r\n
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Gargoyles of the Hospital Real of Santiago de Compostela<\/h2>\r\n
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One of the main attractions of this building is the gargoyles that run along its entire perimeter. These were photographed on the same day as those of the Monastery of San Mart\u00edn Pinario<\/a> and, as mentioned in that entry, we were caught in a heavy downpour, typical of the Galician climate.<\/p>\r\n It is important to note that some of the gargoyles of the Hospital Real show similarities to those of this monastery. Interestingly, for the design of the church of the monastery, whose foundation stone was laid in 1590, the Benedictine monks are thought to have turned to the Portuguese architect Mateus Lopes, who had already worked in Santiago as master builder of the Hospital Real. It is also noteworthy that several gargoyles of the monastery resemble those of the Monastery of Batalha in Portugal.<\/p>\r\n The thematic repertoire of the gargoyles of the Hospital Real is organised into four types of figures: animals, animal monsters, demons, and humans. In general, the style is highly homogeneous, with a variety of elements and, at times, of fantastic connotation, as already observed at San Mart\u00edn Pinario. Most of the figures consist essentially of heads, as the limbs are disproportionately small. The faces are generally rounded, many of them hanging and with a flaccid appearance. In most cases, the water is discharged through a stone conduit projecting from the mouth and adapted to it. There are also some figures of a markedly different style, a formal diversity that enriches the ensemble.<\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/p>\r\n Animal heads are, for the most part, of a canine appearance<\/a> (ears, coats, snouts). Figures can be observed with spiral horns, protruding eyebrows, leaf-shaped ears, hands placed in the mouth<\/a>, rampant postures, wrinkles, or what may be termed a \u201ctriple lip\u201d, as well as collars, fangs, hands at the neck, and others incorporating small subsidiary creatures<\/a>. Some of these minor figures are nude human forms that appear to cling to the body of the gargoyle; another resembles a leaf or a small reptile extending towards the mouth. These are secondary beings, generally of negative and malevolent connotation, which frequently accompany certain gargoyles.<\/p>\r\nGargoyles Representing Real Animals<\/h3>\r\n