Ciudad de la semana: SEVILLA

Seville is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville, Spain. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir. The inhabitants of the city are known as sevillanos (feminine form: sevillanas) or hispalenses, after the Roman name of the city, Hispalis. Seville has a municipal population of about 703,000 as of 2011, and a metropolitan population of about 1.5 million, making it the fourth-largest city in Spain and the 30th most populous municipality in the European Union.

 Its Old Town, the third largest in Europe with an area of 4 square kilometres (2 sq mi), contains three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Alcázar palace complex, the Cathedral and the General Archive of the Indies. The Seville harbour, located about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the Atlantic Ocean, is the only river port in Spain. Seville is also the hottest major metropolitan area in Europe, with summer average high temperatures of above 35 °C.

Many different cultures have been present in the history of Seville. Their legacy over six centuries has shaped the cultural, architectural and artistic heritage that we can admire in Seville’s streets and museums.

Its dark origins have given rise to legends that credit Hercules with the founding of Seville. To come closer to the ancient history of Seville, we must go to the Museo Arqueológico (Archaeology Museum), located in an old pavilion of the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition, a building worth visiting in its own right. There we will find relics from peoples from the other side of the Mediterranean, representations of their faraway gods, and the Treasure of El Carambolo, which shows the Eastern influence assimilated by those first sevillanos.

Ruinas romanas de Itálica

The area surrounding Seville (Alcalá del Río) was the scene of the final battle between the Romans and the Carthaginians (206 BC) and the site of the founding of the first Roman colony: Itálica, as it was named in honor of its founders. Julius Caesar (45 BC) made the sevillanos full-fledged Roman citizens, calling the city Julia Romula Hispalis. Although Seville had large and luxurious temples, circuses, and amphitheatres, everything had disappeared, according to Rodrigo Caro when he wrote in the 17th century. Yet another reason to visit the Museo Arqueológico, where the Roman period is wonderfully represented by findings from Itálica.

Reales Alcázares de Sevilla

The figures on the city’s coat of arms, San Leandro and San Isidoro, who flank the conquering king on both sides, invoke the Visigothic period overshadowed by the splendor of the Arab-controlled Seville that would immediately follow (712 AD).

It was in the Almohad period (mid-12th century) when Isbiliya reached its height. The Mezquita Mayor was built, and its minaret is the symbol of the city, which became known as Giralda when a weathervane was placed on top of the tower during the Renaissance.

The city became part of the Kingdom of Castile when it was conquered by King Santo Fernando in 1248. The city saw its mosques transformed into places of the Christian religion, and the same thing happened to the Large Mosque. But a century and a half later, the ruined state of the mosque made the Ecclesiastic Council make the decision to tear it down and build in its place the Cathedral, the unrivaled symbol of Christian Seville. We must remember from the Medieval era King D. Pedro, built Palacio Mudéjar in the walled area of the old Muslim Alcázar (14th century). 

Detalle de la Plaza de España.

It was in the 16th century when Seville, following the discovery of the America, became the Puerto de Indias, which monopolized commerce with the New World. The Casa de la Contratación was headquartered in the Alcazares, and the merchanted order the Casa Lonja to be built, which centuries later would become the Archivo de Indias.

Many palace-houses were built, as was an important building, the Hospital de las Cinco Llagas, now the Andalusian Parliament.

Fachada del Parlamento de Andalucía

The 17th century brought universally known artistic figures, even though in economic terms, there was an unfortunate progressive shift of commerce with the Americas to Cádiz. The Hermandades de Pasión (Holy Week groups) that took their images out into the streets in an unorganised way were regulated, creating the official pathway for Holy Week marches, a mandatory schedule that determined where each group had to march in an order determined by seniority. This was the beginning of Holy Week, which, together with deep religiosity, gave rise to figures like Montañés,  Murillo ,Zurbarán, and Valdés Leal, whose works we can find in the Museo de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts Mueseum) and scattered throughout different parishes. Important religious buildings were constructed: the Iglesia de la Caridad, el Salvador, and the impressive San Luis de los Franceses. Leandro de Figueroa, the quintessential figure of the Baroque in Seville, is present in all these works.

The 18th century saw the construction of a new tobacco factory, an industrial building that made Carmen la Cigarrera famous worldwide. Another site of this same work, the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza, also began to be built, but it would not be finished until the following century.

The Romanticism of the 19th century made Seville an exotic destination for travel pioneers. Some were good drawers and left the city notes in which the fortified wall, which ended up being torn down to make communication between both sides easier, was still intact.

There are two examples of cast-iron architecture in Seville: one is the first bridge over the River Guadalquivir, the Triana bridge, which was based on the Carrousel Bridge in Paris; the other is the Naves del Barranco.

The 20th century began with the excitement of preparing for an exposition that was delayed for different reasons, finally coming together in 1929. The Ibero-American Exposition left us with Plaza de España, Plaza de América, and the pavillions of the participating countries, which evoke their indigenous pre-Columbian cultures. The century ended with another exposition, the Expo 92, which commemorated the Quincentennial of the Discovery of America and which, from an urban planning point of view, brought about not only the incorporation of Isla de la Cartuja but also the elimination of two old train stations that were a large obstacle to the city’s internal railways, the construction of Santa Justa, the high-speed train, the ring roads, etc.

***Sevilla***