20160512Seville | Spain May 2016

May 12, 2016, Thursday — Seville, Spain

Cathedral of Saint Mary from Constitución Avenue

Seville in the 16th century

Seville

Seville is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of Andalusia and of the province of Sevilla. The inhabitants of the city are known as Sevillanos/Sevillanas. Located on the banks of the Guadalquivir River, Seville is fabled to have been settled by Hercules, and its wealth of magnificent monuments and buildings attest to its long and storied history. Founded by the Tartessians, the city was later settled by the Romans, and two of Rome’s great emperors, Trajan and Hadrian, were born here. Seville was occupied by the Moors from AD 711 until 1248, and many of its most fascinating monuments date to that period. Seville is also renowned as the birthplace of flamenco and Don Juan.

The Cathedral of Seville, the Catedral de Santa María de la Sede, was begun in 1402, with construction continuing into the 16th century. It is the largest of all Roman Catholic cathedrals (Saint Peter’s Basilica not being a cathedral) and also the largest Medieval Gothic religious building, in terms of both area and volume. Its main altarpiece is considered the largest in the Christian world. This cathedral was built to demonstrate Seville’s wealth, as it had become a major trading center in the years after the Reconquista.

This morning we went for a bus city tour where we saw an obelisk dedicated to Magellan and statues of El Cid and of Simon Bolivar. Many of the buildings that are now used to house museums and government offices were built for the 1929 World’s Fair. The bus tour ended at the Plaza de España, which was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 to showcase Spain's industry and technology exhibits. By the walls of the Plaza are many tiled alcoves, each representing a different province of Spain.

Plaza de España

Statue of El Cid

Ann Lorenz

Plaza de España

Statue of El Cid

Juanjo Perez pointing out the Guadalquivir River

the Guadalquivir River

obelisk

Jacaranda tree and Ferris Wheel

one of the entrances to the Plaza de España

Plaza de España wall ceramic

the curving colonnade

ceramic

the fountain in the middle of the Plaza de España

Val Burgess

Mike Barbano and Jim Crampton

Pat Nagy, Elaine Hein, Nancy Fisher, Ingrid Yule, and JuanJo Perez

Sonboon Higgs, Nancy Fisher, JuanJo Perez, and Sandy Barnes

ceramic

Ceramic mural for the State of Canarias

Ceramic mural for the
State of Cadíz

Ceramic mural for the
State of Caceres

Ceramic mural for the
State of Burgos

Ceramic mural for the
State of Baleares

Ceramic mural for the
State of Badajoz

Ceramic mural for the
State of Avila

Ceramic mural for the
State of Almeria

Ceramic mural for the
State of Alicante

Ceramic mural for the
State of Albacete

Ceramic mural for the
State of Alava

Ceramic mural for the
host city of Seville

Plaza de España, Seville

bridge steps

Plaza de España, Seville, Spain

fountain

Plaza de España panorama

Plaza de España

Plaza de España

serenade

From the Plaza de España we walked through the Jewish quarter, past a plaque dedicated to Washington Irving and a plaque commemorating the place where Carmen met Don José and Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen, to the Santa María Cathedral.

Juan-José points out the pipes buried in the walls to bring in fresh water

plaque for Washington Irving

plaque for the street where Carmen met Don José and Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen

we're on the Jewish Quarter

Patio of Flags

door

Patio of Flags

May 12, 2016, Thursday — Santa Maria Cathedral, Seville

After its completion in the early 16th century, the Santa Maria Cathedral (the Seville Cathedral) supplanted Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, a title the Byzantine church had held for nearly a thousand years. The cathedral is also the burial site of Christopher Columbus.

Santa Maria Cathedral, Seville

top of Holy door

Holy door

JuanJo Perez collects us with his ever-present maroon umbrella

artifacts above the entrance include a crocodile and an elephant tusk

Santa Maria Cathedral, Seville

Santa Maria Cathedral, Seville

half of the organ

the Silver Door

the main altar

Mike Barbano, Terry Adams, Sue Novick, Gail Barbano, Judy Beck, Georgena Flynn-Stahl, Arthur Luehrmann, Jim Fisher, Bill Stahl, and Karen LeRoy listen to our local guide

above and at left:
choir area

Santa Maria Cathedral ceilings

The tomb of Christopher Columbus, inside the Cathedral of Seville

The tomb of Christopher Columbus, inside the Cathedral of Seville

organ

poster with detail of Christ child from the float on the right

float that is carried on the streets in the Holy days

Madonna and child

Christ on the Cross

view of the top of the main altar

Christ

painting by Murillo

Santa Maria Cathedral

painting by Murillo

painting by Murillo

The Giralda and the Cathedral of Seville at sunset

template for a cross section of the pillars that had to be replaced because of cracks

pigeon on the steps

Cab Burgess, Judy Beck, Isabel Sandez, and Nancy Crampton at one of the doors

Myrtha Saleme and Arthur Luehrmann enjoying the peace of the Moorish arches in the courtyard

Ron Santina

the Moorish minaret made into a bell tower

Moorish door

one of the doors undergoing renovation

the Pope's door

Post Office and Telegraph Office

horse-drawn buggy

Post Office and Telegraph Office

After leaving from the cathedral’s Patio de los Naranjos (Patio of the Oranges), we went back to our hotel to find out that the building just across the street had been hit by lightning, which fried the building’s electrical circuits and knocked a number of tiles off the exterior. Luckily, no one was hurt.

May 12, 2016, Thursday — Flamenco Experience in Seville

That evening we went past the Real Maestranza, the bullfighting ring, and were given a demonstration of flamenco costumes at the Patio Sevillano Flamenco, after which we had dinner and were treated to some wonderful flamenco dances.

bougainvillea

Torre del Oro (The Golden Tower) and the Guadalquivir River

Torre de Oro (The Golden Tower)

panoramic view of Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza

the front of Plaza de Toros
de la Real Maestranza

statue of the Condesa de Barcelona in front of the Real Maestranza bullfighting ring

statue of the Condesa de Barcelona in front of the Real Maestranza bullfighting ring

Flamenco at the Patio Sevillano!

ceramic depiction of a Flamenco dance

Dancer and singer Eva demonstrating her craft and costumes

Martha Luehrmann with one of the traditional male hats

Judy Beck with one of the traditional male hats

Howard Deckelbaum with one of the traditional male hats

above the stage

our male dancer is a Danny Kaye look-alike

View of the Giralda from the Patio de Banderas (Courtyard of Flags), historic square with remains of Roman, Moorish and Castilian periods

Courtyard of the Maidens in the Alcázar of Seville

Interior of the Alcázar

ceiling of the Hall of Ambassadors in the Alcázar of Seville

The Alcázar Gardens

Royal Tobacco Factory, today the rectorate of the University of Seville

The Chapel of El Carmen,
next to the Triana bridge

the Triana Bridge at night

The "Fountain of Hispalis (Roman Seville)" and the Alfonso XIII Hotel, built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, in Puerta de Jerez

Metropol Parasol, locally also known as Las Setas (the whales) by the German architect Jürgen Mayer

Palace of San Telmo, seat of the presidency of the Andalusian Autonomous Government

Museum of Fine Arts

Pabellón Mudéjar — the Museum of Fine Arts and Traditions

Pergola in María Luisa Park

float of Jesus of the Great Power (Juan de Mesa, 1620), being carried in the streets in the Holy Week Madrugá

Guadalquivir River, Schindler Tower and Sevilla Tower on the Isla de La Cartuja, designed by the architect César Pelli

self portrait of
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

painting of Isidoro de Sevilla, 7th century archbishop and doctor

Casa de Pilatos garden

Casa de Pilatos

The 'Adriática' building (1914-1922) on the Avenida de la Constitución designed by José Espiau y Muñoz

Start of Trip

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