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First Work in Aragon: The Parish Church of Fuentes de Ebro (Zaragoza)
The first documented work carried out by Pierres Vedel in Aragon was his intervention in the Parish Church of Saint Mary in Fuentes de Ebro, a project that marked the beginning of his close relationship with the Fernández de Heredia family and, subsequently, with the province of Teruel.
When Vedel arrived in Fuentes de Ebro, the church was already the result of a lengthy construction process involving different master builders and workshops. This circumstance had produced a highly complex building in which diverse architectural solutions and aesthetic approaches coexisted.
The origins of the church date back to 1466, when Don Juan of Aragon, Archbishop of Zaragoza, granted permission to Don Juan Fernández de Heredia, lord of the town, and the municipal council of Fuentes de Ebro to build a new church dedicated to Our Lady. The authorization provided for the construction of a new parish church with a sacristy and chapels dedicated to Saint Nicholas and Saint Catherine, which required the demolition of the former medieval building and the erection of a new temple.
The life of this church, however, was relatively short. In 1535 the building underwent significant alterations when Juan Fernández de Heredia y Jiménez de Urrea, Third Count of Fuentes, decided to establish the family pantheon within the church. These modifications substantially changed the configuration of the building and contributed to the increasing heterogeneity of its interior spaces.
The works were already completed when, on 8 September 1546, the municipal council of Fuentes contracted Pierres Vedel to undertake the “rebuilding of the parish church of the said town” for the sum of 26,000 sueldos. Between 1546 and 1550, the architect carried out what would become his first major intervention in Aragonese territory.
Vedel's task was not to construct a new building but rather to provide unity and coherence to an architectural ensemble that had already been completed. His intervention was therefore primarily spatial and aesthetic in nature, as he was required to integrate elements originating from different construction campaigns and harmonize solutions conceived by other master builders. This was a particularly demanding undertaking, since it required him to respect the existing structures while at the same time giving the church a coherent and balanced architectural identity.
During these years, Vedel did not remain permanently in Fuentes de Ebro. At the same time, he carried out other commissions for the Fernández de Heredia family, including several projects at the Collegiate Church of Mora de Rubielos, of which the Counts of Fuentes were patrons, as well as his earliest interventions on the Tower of San Martín in Teruel.
For this reason, Pierres Vedel's principal contribution to the Parish Church of Fuentes de Ebro should be understood as a comprehensive redefinition of its interior space. His achievement lay not so much in the creation of new structures as in his ability to organize, harmonize, and unify a complex building, transforming it into a coherent architectural whole. The project also provides an early example of the qualities that would characterize his entire professional career: technical mastery, spatial sensitivity, and a remarkable ability to intervene successfully in pre-existing constructions.