The Vázquez de Molina Palace in Úbeda: Evaluation of the state of conservation, characterisation of materials and proposal for intervention

The Vázquez de Molina Palace or Palace of the Chains of Úbeda (now the headquarters of the City Council), is a magnificent example of civil palatial architecture of the sixteenth century in Renaissance style. It was designed by Andrés de Vandelvira and its construction was completed in 1566.

In this project we have carried out an exhaustive characterisation, prior to the conservation/restoration intervention, of the building materials that constitute the palace.  We also carried out an evaluation of the state of conservation of the different factories that make up the building and a proposal for intervention.

To this end, a series of samples of stone, wall, mortar and salt efflorescence representing most of the materials that form the building were analysed.

The analytical techniques used were binocular magnifying glass, X-ray diffraction, infrared absorption spectroscopy, high-resolution scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy on thin film.