CASA DE LA VEGA
In the heart of Chiclana de la FronteraITS HISTORY
Casa de la Vega Suites is the renovation of a family house, a traditional neoclassical building from the second half of the 18th century located in the heart of “Chiclana de la Frontera”.
Its origins lie in the commercial and agricultural development of the town due to the transfer of the “Casa del Comercio de las Indias” from Seville to Cadiz in 1717, which allowed the construction of numerous manor houses and the establishment of vineyards, olive groves and wheat and barley plantations.
RESTORATION
Nature, architecture and memory
In the restoration project we have tried to respect the nature of the house by highlighting the typical architecture of Chiclana with its own enclosures, conserving the original ironwork, the layout of the rooms around the central courtyard, recovering vestiges that had been hidden such as part of the cornice and the oyster stone corner, and the characteristic peaked hat-shaped dust caps over the openings that make up the logo and identity sign of the building itself.
On the other hand, we have tried to preserve the memory of those who lived there, our grandparents Carmen and Manuel, and of all their children, emphasising what characterised them; the love of the land and the family.
SPACES OF MEMORY
It traces its history
THE ZAGUAN
In the entrance hall, “casapuerta”, an original ceramic latticework from the “Mensaque” factory welcomes us, accompanied by a succession of handmade wicker lamps that evoke, through their tear-drop shape, the hardness and dedication of the countryside and manual work.
OBJECTS OF MEMORY
Next, we have arranged in glass cases a series of personal objects belonging to those who lived in the house, which invite us to establish their relationships, tell us about lives lived there, about history, dreams and aspirations; about who we are.
THE PATIO
In 1965 a flood devastated Chiclana and submerged it under water, with one of the highest levels ever recorded in this house at 260 cm above the ground, leaving a quagmire of desolation in the town. Household belongings, family books and hopes were drowned in the mud. The people of Chiclana, hard workers in the countryside and enterprising as few others, refloated the city with hard work and effort.
Fragments of the prose poem “Las cosas del campo” by Jose Antonio Rojas, which were among the texts drowned in this house in that flood, are painted in mud around the courtyard at a height of 260 cm. In the centre, a centenary olive tree with five branches around which the 8 Suites are set, together with mastic trees, lavender and aromatic plants from the countryside.
THE SUITES
The suites incorporate an artistic project by the outstanding artist Jose Manuel Bellido that deals with memory and the nature that occupies the background in the portraits of family albums, changing the hierarchy of the photographic references through the strangeness and mystery that alludes to that background of our lives.
The interior design has been carefully selected to offer a coherent, natural, environmentally friendly, functional and comfortable aesthetic, seeking the quality and design of the furniture, natural fabrics and handcrafted pieces.
THE STAIRWAY
The landings of the building show mural paintings of the Chiclana countryside by the award-winning Sevillian artist Ignacio Ordoñez Falcón.
THE ROOFTOP
On the rooftop was the “soberao” of the house, where the wheat and potatoes were stored, and which has provided resources in so many moments of famine. Now it has been reconverted into a unique terrace decorated with numerous plants, from where you can see from the “Ermita de Santa Ana” to “San Fernando”, both the marshes and the city centre, our memory and our present.
LOCATION
In the main commercial artery of the town, 3 minutes from our famous “Mercado de Abastos”, and next to the “Alameda del Río” street.
Its location allows you to enjoy the atmosphere of the town centre, stroll, visit monuments, go for tapas, shop in the local shops, buy fresh market produce and cook it. It also offers recreation for children in the Alameda del Río, or in the Plaza de las Bodegas, cultural activities in theatres and museums, such as the Teatro Moderno, the “Centro de Interpretación del Vino y de la Sal”, the “Museo Francisco Montes Paquiro”, the “Casa de la Cultura”, or the “Museo de Chiclana”.
