Esgrafiado, applied to architecture, describes the technique of creating 3-d patterns on walls. We loved seeing buildings with this decoration. Segovia must have hundreds of them; we saw maybe half. Once we’d noticed them, we searched them out.
Although I don’t know – yet – exactly how these esgrafiado – walls are created, essentially what happens is that a smooth surface of some kind of plaster or cement is laid on the wall and the design then cut out of it. The result is a smooth design on a rough surface where the material has been removed. Every design we saw was unique; no duplicates as near as we could tell.
Esgrafiado buildings also exist in Barcelona, but Segovia must be the prime place to see them in Spain. Here are pictures of some Segovia esgafiado buildings.
A old esgrafiado wall.
Probably the oldest design we saw.
This shows a wall with part of it repaired. The lighter area has been renovated, while the darker area has, over many years, has eroded.
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Tired of esgrafiado? Because if you’re not, I’ve got about 50 more pictures to show you.