“Techos de Armaduras” in Cuban Colonial Architecture: Cuban Coverings from XVII to XVIII Century

The main research investigation deals with wooden roofs in the context of colonial architecture in Cuba, focusing especially on civil and religious buildings from XVII to XVIII centuries. The roofing technique treated in the present research comes from the Cubans span—roofs called “armadura de maderas” and they originate from Spanish sloping roofs called “armadura de pares”, typical of the mudéjar style. Thanks to the colonialization process, the experience and the cultural background in building them came directly from Spain. Like Spanish roofs, Cuban ones hide a powerful but visibly light structural whole provided with little elements of small size. Together with Canary Islands, Cuba recalls its incredible alikeness with constructive solutions used in Castilla and Andalusia. It can be noticed that both in Canary Islands and Cuban roofs there are great similitudes as well as great differences: for example, in the Canary Islands wooden decorations are often very rich, while in Cuba is more likely to be found simpler decorative items. What is emphasized in the Cuban wooden roof is instead the structure, that is always manifest independently by the type of its decorations.