Virtuous stone : Medieval Llotjas of the Crown of Aragon

Abstract

Built during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the Llotja of Barcelona and the Llotja of Valencia were multipurpose halls for merchants to meet and conduct wholesale trade. These Llotja served as a space where interconfessional relations continued to thrive amidst a society in which Christian homogeneity was becoming linked with moral and spiritual salvation. Both the city leaders and the church had a vested interest in the financial success of these cities as trade centers. Yet the Llotjas represented a political and moral problem for each city’s political and religious leaders. This thesis considers the construction and function of the Llotjas through Medieval Christian theological discourses on architectural allegory, aesthetics and materiality. By analyzing the relationship between civic architecture and the theological legitimization of the Barcelona’s and Valencia’s body politic, this thesis also contributes to the broader discussion on the relationship between medieval civic architecture and virtue.