Xose Álvarez Fernández

Vaults and arches made of stone, Stone masonry, Dry stone, Rubble masonry walls, Cobblestone pavements, Extraction of granite, Extraction of limestone, Extraction of sandstone, Extraction of marble, Stone carving, Hórreos, paneras and cabazos

NAME:

ADDRESS:

Parque de los Lirios, 2 1ºF – 26006 Logroño

DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK

Xosé Álvarez Fernández is dedicated mainly to the elaboration of stone elements in different formats: ashlars, blocks, ornamental representations, mouldings, eaves, head pieces, ledges, arches and columns, among others.

He uses the traditional artisanal techniques which stonemasons have always used, with tools such as: bull point chisels, chisels, gouges, tooth chisels, files, wedges, pickaxes, bush hammers, wire brushes, mallets and bell hammers. He does not use tools nor products which may be abrasive.

The placing of the stone elements is carried out with lime mortars and sand, being respectful with the heritage he intervenes in.

APPRENTICESHIP

He has learnt the craft from other family members, since he belongs to the third generation of stonemasons in his family (his father and grandfather were also stonemasons).

TEACHING

He has a teaching experience of over 35 years onsite: training other builders in large masonry works, many of which continue to work as stonemasons and with which he occasionally collaborates with in certain commissions he receives.

He has received different offers to work as a teacher, teaching others to become stonemasons in a school/workshop, even though for the time being he has rejected them because he continues to prefer working onsite for the moment, leaving this other field for a later moment in his life when he is no longer physically able to carry out the first kind of work.

SELECTED WORKS

– Restoration of the Monastery of Suso (6th century) in San Millán de la Cogolla, La Rioja: cleaning of the horseshoe arches and alabaster capitals.
– Rehabilitation of the Monastery of Yuso (15th century) in San Millán de la Cogolla, La Rioja: restoration and cleaning of the Salón de los Reyes and Salón de la Hispanidad.
– Church of San Bartolomé (12th century) in Logroño, La Rioja: cleaning of the Pórtico.
– Church of San Pedro (16th century) in Burgos: restoration of the socle, the buttresses and the pediment.
– Restoration and cleaning of the façade of a house dating from the 18th century in Briones, La Rioja.
– Reconstruction of the façade of the Romanesque cemetery (12th century) in Navarrete, La Rioja.
– Reconstruction of vaulted norias (16th century) in Briones, La Rioja.
– Reconstruction of vertical walls for the bell-gable of the Church of Santiago in Logroño, La Rioja.
– Works in Wine Cellars such as: Marqués de Murrieta, Amezola de la Mota, Dinastía Vivanco, Rioja Alta, Faustino, Antigua Usanza, Carlos Serres, Muga, de la Marquesa, el Coto, Alvia, Doscientos Monjes…