South Cistern
This cistern is the closest to the Tower of Homage. It possibly was the one which offered direct supply to it. The 2004 intervention enabled it to be visited by installing a wooden stairway for its access. In it, a window was found that at some time could have been opened due to many functions of this room throughout history, warehouse, dungeon, etc. It was also only used to make it workable. Archaeological excavations prior to this intervention discovered remains and walls that have been preserved as it is so that they can continue to be observed. On the front wall of the vault, the water collection well can be seen from the roof that supplied the cistern, a kind of vertical niche that goes down to the ground.
This room has part of the works from the permanent exhibition called Arteology: The Fictional Past by the German artist Wolfgang Berus (Witzenhausen, Kassel, 1956) settled in Olvera. A trio of pennants with the colors of the Olvera flag that represent the Jewish, Christian and Arab cultures; a decorated and crowned coffin; and a kind of 'censer' made from a brazier and a flowerpot located over the catchment well, are some of the works that make up this space and that the author donated to the municipality for the permanent exhibition of the Olvera castle. With these works, the German artist wanted to recreate fictitious scenes with meaningful objects that never really existed, nor do they belong to the historical heritage of this place, in which they take on a new meaning.
Arteology: the fictional past
The German artist settled in Olvera has wanted to pay homage in this room of the castle to the coexistence of the three cultures; Jewish, Christian and Arab. The author sets the room as if it were an imagined crypt or burial chamber, in which an adorned sarcophagus occupies the leading role on which rests the crown of the supposed king that rests in the coffin. These items, originally typical of a medieval castle, never existed. However, Berus creates them from traditional objects that are no longer in use, such as braziers, stoves, blankets, rugs, flower pots..., to give them a new meaning after they are recycled.
Communion of cultures
In this other work located in the South cistern, the German artist refers to the communion of Arab and Christian cultures by creating a piece that is reminiscent of a stone medallion. The Arabic reference appears in the frame on which the figure of the Virgin is placed: an eight-pointed star. However, the Christian ingredient is provided by the virgin in a pose of prayer that appears covered by the Islamic hijab. Perhaps what is most surprising is Berus's ability to re-signify because the materials with which he executes the work are an old circular brazier platform, typical of mountain towns. The star is precisely the feet of the platform.