the tradition of gate design...

I really like gate designs...Here in Puerto Rico we received this tradition from Spain. Gates were initially developed in Rome for the need to protect and to enclose a space with treasures or important goods, at the same time it was important to let light come through. At first gates were simple bars made out of wood, later on bronze, but it was not until this knowledge arrived to Spain that they started making them out of iron and became an essential part of the entire arquitecture.

When the arabs arrived to Spain they found gates to be very useful to protect their lands from invasions. So they took on this way of construction and made it their own.

It was not until the 11th and 12th century that gates achieved their maximum expression, a more romanesque syle.

With the advent of modernism, this spanish tradition, of decorated gates is slowly dying in Puerto Rico, but we can still find them around...standing still, tall, and beautiful...