Author(s): Luis Jose Garcia-Pulido; Luca Mattei; Virginie Claude Brazille; Catuxa Novo Estebanez

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Keywords: Royal water channels; Landscapes and Cultural Itineraries; Monumental Complex of the Alhambra; Dehesa del Generalife Periurban Park

Abstract: Water has been and it is an intrinsic part of the Cultural Landscape of the palatial city of the Alhambra, which was connected to the valley of the Darro River as a source of lasting supply. This was made possible through the construction of the Royal Canal, the Acequia Real, which today consists of two main canals, known as Acequia de los Dos Tercios and Acequia del Tercio. In the last section there is a third lower ditch that could obtain excess water from the ones above it, directing them to the farming terraces located on the northern slope of the Palace of the Generalife. The Acequia de los Arquillos ran above all of them, without reaching the Alhambra. The environment through which they flow has a huge environmental and cultural value. It shows both the influence of natural processes and the organization imposed by human beings. After the creation of the Acequia Real of the Alhambra in the 13th century, this area was transformed into an agricultural ecosystem consisting of a complex mosaic of irrigated orchards, extensive rain-fed crops, meadows and forests, sprinkled with constructions for different purposes. The hydraulic system was altered in the 15th century with the loss of the Acequia de los Arquillos, as well as the subsequent Christian regulation of the Acequia Real from 1492. The Dehesa del Generalife was badly affected in the late 1560s during the uprising of the Moriscos. Even before, this area was neglected, with uncontrolled communal use by the residents of the city of Granada, which caused multiple damage and deterioration. Despite its recovery and the fact that orders were issued to ensure that livestock did not graze in the area, this process was to go on until the first half of the twentieth century. Soon after that, the historical channels that still carried water were abandoned. However, the Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife (PAG) is committed to the recovery and management of big parts of the two main branches of Alhambra´s royal water channels, as well as their heritage and environmental values. During this process, archaeological interventions are being carried out that provide valuable information for understanding the complex hydraulic system that was articulated around the Alhambra in Nasrid times. The maintenance of the historic riverbed of the Acequia Real through an ecological flow, is done in parallel to the recovery of a series of paths that are part of the network of existing pedestrian itineraries in the Periurban Park of the Dehesa del Generalife, very popular among visitors.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3850/IAHR-39WC2521711920221582

Year: 2022