The lost gardens of the Palace of Meirás (Pazo de Meirás), a journey through time

The Pazo de Meirás (Meirás Palace) is a vast historical and artistic heritage complex with a great cultural and political importance in the recent history of Spain, being one of the most recognizable buildings for the Spanish people nowadays. Therefore, the current conservation status of the gardens has been assessed through the reconstruction of its historical evolution. Originally, the Pazo de Meirás and its gardens were built linked to the artistic and romantic style imprint of the outstanding writer Countess Emilia Pardo Bazán (1856­–1921). The gardens experienced their greatest splendor during this period. In fact, the historical floral diversity of the gardens, with a total of 154 recorded taxa, is among the highest in Galician manor houses. However, the context of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) involved a drastic change: the palace became the summer residence of the head of the Spanish state, General Francisco Franco (1938–1975). Despite subsequent neglect and a fire in 1978, the estate’s intrinsic value led to its return to the Spanish State in 2020. Currently, the gardens could constitute a significant cultural asset linked to the Countess of Pardo Bazán and to the socio-political changes that took place in Spain during the 20th century.

梅拉斯宫（Pazo de Meirás）是一座规模宏大的历史艺术遗产建筑群，在西班牙近代史上拥有举足轻重的文化与政治价值，亦是当下西班牙民众辨识度最高的建筑之一。因此，研究团队通过重构其历史演变历程，对该园林当前的保护现状开展了评估工作。最初，梅拉斯宫及其园林的营造与杰出作家埃米莉亚·帕尔多·巴赞女伯爵（Countess Emilia Pardo Bazán，1856–1921）所烙印的艺术浪漫风格紧密关联。该园林在此时期迎来了全盛阶段。事实上，该园区历史上的花卉多样性共计记录有154个植物分类群（taxa），在加利西亚地区的庄园园林中位居前列。然而，西班牙内战（Spanish Civil War，1936–1939）的爆发令该建筑群的命运发生剧变：这座宫殿自此成为西班牙国家元首弗朗西斯科·佛朗哥将军（General Francisco Franco，1938–1975）的夏日官邸。尽管后续长期疏于管护，且1978年遭遇火灾，但该庄园建筑群的固有文化价值使其在2020年重回西班牙国家所有。如今，该园林可成为与埃米莉亚·帕尔多·巴赞女伯爵及20世纪西班牙发生的社会政治变革紧密关联的重要文化资产。