Some of the recorded lápidas that once framed the entrance to La Madraza © Factum Foundation
The workshop obtained detailed information from a selection of wall relief sections of the yeserías, capturing their shape, surface, and colour, contributing to an in-depth understanding of the site’s rich and complex preservation history. This collaboration with the University of Granada underlines the importance of practical training and on-site digitisation as part of Cultural Heritage management.
As part of this ongoing collaboration, Osama Dawod and Ana Carrasco from the University of Granada worked together at the Museo de la Alhambra to carry out the 3D digital recording of a series of marble fragments (lápidas) with epigraphic motifs that once framed the entrance to La Madraza. The recordings will be used to create a material reproduction that could return these unique elements to their original location and, eventually, serve as a base for a reconstruction of the missing parts.
Osama Dawod recording one of the epigraphic lápidas using close-range photogrammetry © Factum Foundation
A 1:1 scale print of the 3D and colour data from the mihrab in the Oratory will also feature in the exhibition ‘Los Latidos del Corán: La vida del libro sagrado entre mudéjares y moriscos’ (‘Heartbeats of the Qur’an: The Life of the Sacred Book among Mudéjars and Moriscos’) at the Hospital Real de Granada (11 June – 31 October 2025). The Oratory’s complex history of conservation can be studied in the intricate relief of the plasterwork on its walls. As one of the finest examples of Nasrid art outside the Alhambra, these relief carvings represent an architecture that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Detail of the surface of the mihrab of the Oratory of La Madraza
Other architectural fragments have been recorded in recent months at monumental sites (including the Palace of La Aljafería, Zaragoza) and in the Museo Arqueológico Nacional (Madrid). These recordings form part of an ongoing research initiative aimed at creating a database of the finest examples of historic yeserías found across the Iberian Peninsula and beyond. The data will contribute to an ambitious exhibition project that will be announced shortly. The digital information will support the conservation, study, and dissemination of the original elements.
