The main purpose of the restoration project sponsored by the City Council of Talavera de la Reina was to recuperate, preserve and restore the former potter’s workshop called El Carmen, which is the result of the purchase of the primitive church and the Carmelite convent by the family of the potter Niveiro, and which was disused after the disentailment in the 19th century. The first step in the project was the adquisition from the numerous descendants of Niveiro, so the works of cleaning and removal could immediately start both in the inner part of the temple and the close buildings dedicated to pottery (wood storage space, drying room, dye gulfs, domed ovens, etc.), all of them constituent elements of a complex of exceptional interest, respecting the changes and reforms the building and the rests of the convent suffered over time and which are a constitutional part of its history. The rehabilitation was focused on the adjustment of the building as headquarters of the new municipal library, and the annexed buildings (wood storage space, ovens, naves, drying rooms) as rooms for different activities for the citizens of Talavera. At the same time, this complex was used for making known an interesting historic heritage linked to pottery and the production of ceramics from Talavera.
The previous historical, archelogical and landscaping studies were needed to preserve and highlight the historical testimonies of the potter’s workshop during the process of rehabilitation of the building. Nowadays, once the furniture and needed facilities were supplied and placed, the building and its annexed spaces were ready to be back into the cultural life of Talavera de la Reina.
Share On