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trade throughout antiquity and was held by
the Moors until the 13th century. With the
“discovery” of the New World this port that
linked the Mediterranean to the Atlantic
entered its greatest era. It gradually sup-
planted the other Andalusian port, S EVILLE ,
that had originally dominated transatlantic
trade. Cádiz paid the price of her promi-
nence as the object of periodic raids by the
English and other enemies from the 16th to
the 18th centuries. As the stronghold of
Spanish resistance to the French invaders
during the P ENINSULAR W AR , Cádiz housed
the legislature, or Cortes (see CORTES ) that
produced the famous Constitution of 1812.
This document was the reference point for
all subsequent attempts to establish liberal
governments in Spain and many other Euro-
pean countries. Diminished in its commer-
cial importance in more recent times, Cádiz
has lately acquired a new significance with
the growing influx of immigrants entering
Spain during the age of globalization.
Calatrava's achievements led to his
induction in November 2000, into the Royal
Academy of Fine Arts. As might be expected,
he broke with tradition by omitting the
usual speech of modest respect for his elders
in favor of the self-made film titled Mov-
imiento (Movement), in which he discussed
his work as engineer, architect, and sculp-
tor as part of an integrated approach that
linked him to all of the fine arts, including
painting and music. While some of the aca-
demicians at the ceremony were reportedly
baffled or annoyed, others considered his
approach “brilliant” and appreciated his
attempt to let a breath of fresh air into the
stuffy atmosphere of the academy.
As the new millennium began, Calatrava
had already attained a global reputation. He
became a natural choice for some of the key
work connected with the Athens venue of
the 2004 Olympic Games. In designing a
roof for the existing Velodrome (the sta-
dium constructed in 1982 for cycling com-
petitions) Calatrava's conception of what
suggested an overarching structure of
curved tubes and arches revealed once
again his ability to integrate the strength of
engineering techniques and the abstract
quality of architectural vision. His critics—
of whom there are still many—inevitably
suggested that the design was too complex
and would never be finished on time, or
conversely that after it was put in place it
would fall down upon the audience gath-
ered within. Neither of these prophesies
came true. Calatrava also designed addi-
tional features of the Olympic site, includ-
ing a tubular metal wall of nations that
undulated according to a computer pro-
gram and a covered walkway that evoked
the Agora, the public meeting place of
ancient Athens.
Calatrava, Santiago (1951- )
Spanish architect and engineer
Born in V ALENCIA and trained in engineer-
ing and architecture in Spain and Switzer-
land, Calatrava established his office in
Zurich and carried out his earliest commis-
sions in that city, such as the Stadelhofen
Railway Station (1983). A series of projects
in Europe followed, including Alamillo
Bridge and La Cartuja Viaduct, in S EVILLE
(1987-92); the Campo Volantín Footbridge
and the Sondica Airport, in Bilbao (1990-
99); the Oriente Station, in L ISBON (1993-
98); and Alameda Bridge and Underground
Station, the City of Science Museum and
Planetarium, and the Palace of Arts, in
Valencia (1991-2001).
 
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