Women in the Sevillian House (16th Century): Real Estate Market Analysis and Architectural Study

Abstract

This article aims to highlight the important role that women played in domestic architecture and the real estate market in the city of Seville, in Spain, in the 16th century. By studying more than a thousand apeos of houses in the Cathedral and charitable hospitals (detailed reports that included names of tenants, location, distribution of spaces, dimensions and even descriptions of the construction) and analysing the buildings they describe, it has been possible to conclude that the gender condition did not always show the absence of women and that their influence on architecture was more than notorious (a third of the tenants were women of different social conditions and scales, and the use of these properties was extremely varied). Furthermore, the recreations of the dwellings have confirmed that women defined their own spaces, the so-called women's services.