La dialéctica entre lo original y lo nuevo: la restauración de la iglesia del cuartel de San Hermenegildo de Sevilla

Abstract

The church of the old school of Saint Hermegildo in Seville is a paradigm of our heritage in its authenticity. The temple is the last vestige of the old school, at that time barracks, which was demolished in 1957-58, leaving it exempt and in need of the restitution of an adequate image, compulsory from a patrimonial and urban perspective. Félix Hernández Giménez carried out its restoration in 1960-67, designing new shapes and elements for the building such as the front of the south facade, which was wrongly attributed to Alonso de Vandelvira, as is proved in this article. The analysis of nine located projects of Hernández and the auxiliary architect Rafael Manzano Martos and the information obtained from other sources verify this intervention without subtracting value from the building. Its formal modifications, the proper location of the building in its emplacement, as well as all the historical events that happened there are part of the building and its authenticity.1