«This Sublime Work is the Mark of a Great King»: The City/Arsenal of Ferrol or The Marquis de la Ensenada’s Vision of A Naval Port (1747-1754)

Abstract

It was during the Marquis de la Ensenada’s premiership that construction of the largest naval base in the kingdom of Spain began in the city of Ferrol, with the approval of King Ferdinand VI. Huge sums of money were invested in the undertaking, one in which several leading figures of the day took part and which gave shape to a magnificent naval arsenal. It was, without question, an outstanding architectural and hydraulic engineering project that should be regarded as one of the most important of its kind to be carried out in 18th-century Europe.

Keywords

• ferrol
• arsenal de marina
• marqués de la ensenada
• siglo xviii
• arquitectura
• fernando vi
• ilustración.