In the history of building, João de Castilho is one of the names that keeps returning.
The record lists João de Castilho as Spanish architect.
João de Castilho was born at Arnuero in 1470. His recorded nationality is Spain.
The Renaissance made the architect an individual with a signature, a theory and a reputation, working from drawings rather than on site.
He is recorded as architect.
An architect is judged by how a building is used a century after the drawings.
That the work was built in Spain shaped it: climate, materials, planning law and who holds the budget all decide what can actually be built.
João de Castilho died in 1561, aged 91. The buildings remain, still in use by people who never knew the name - which is the particular afterlife architecture offers.
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