Venue

PRESENTATION

The Palacio de Congresos de Córdoba is located in the most monumental and symbolic epicenter of Córdoba. Door to door to the mosque-cathedral in the area of greatest historical relevance of the city declared a world heritage site by Unesco in 1994 and annexed to the Jewish quarter. In addition, in 2012, Cordoba received yet another distinction: the Fiesta de Los Patios which was recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Finally, in July 2018, the caliphal city of Medina Azahara also obtained the title of World Heritage Site. So Cordoba has four inscriptions on the World Heritage List granted by Unesco: The Mosque-Cathedral (1984), the historic center surrounding it (1994), the Fiesta de Los Patios (2012) and Medina Azahara (2018). In addition, like the rest of Spain, it enjoys the title of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity also granted to Flamenco (2010) and the Mediterranean Diet (2013).

The building that houses the Palacio de Congresos has its origins in the Hospital de San Sebastián, a work of Hernán Ruiz el Viejo between 1513 and 1516 that was articulated around an elegant two-story Mudejar cloister. The old infirmary has come down to us, which preserves unusual mural paintings or frescoes of this style, date and theme. But where the author knew how to capture the most beautiful synthesis between Gothic and Renaissance was in the interior of the chapel and its façade.

After having provided assistance services for almost four centuries, the Hospital de San Sebastián was transformed into the Casa Cuna or Casa de Expósitos until 1850 when the Diputación Provincial took over the management of the so-called Casa Central de Expósitos y Maternidad (Central Foundling and Maternity Home). Gerardo Olivares was in charge of the project to transform the Casa Cuna into a Conference Center inaugurated in 1986. He not only discovered and integrated the remains of the Andalusian Alcazar, but also restored the Mudejar courtyard. He also designed an auditorium with two historicist courtyards, providing the palace with different multipurpose and functional spaces.

In recent decades, the venue for important presidential and ministerial summits of historical relevance and a showcase for the city on a national and international scale, the Palacio de Congresos de Córdoba has adapted to the new times with major renovation works. The Cordovan studio, LAP has transformed the auditorium into a reference work of recent (2018) avant-garde architecture recognized worldwide in websites and prestigious international magazines. The undulating and organic flexibility of the wood as well as a setting that harmoniously dialogues between the past and the future, has been the subject of nominations, being included in the in the C-Guide, Global Guide to Contemporary Architecture.

Four thousand meters of centuries of history and heritage make this privileged enclave an incomparable and unique setting.