!!!Seville

by Stas Sedov and Dmitry Moiseenko,
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

20 January 2016

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

One of the brightest and most famous cities in Spain is Seville — the
capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia. According to the
legend, its foundation was initiated by the mythological hero Hercules:
his statue can be seen as a decoration for the administrative
headquarters and there is also the street named after him (the Alameda
de Hércules).

Historians tend to support the other, more prosaic version though. In
the third millennium B.C. a Phoenician settlement appeared on the banks
of the Guadalquivir river, eventually it became the city of Seville. One
century later Romans arrived here, in the first and second centuries
they were replaced by the Arabs, the Normans and the Berbers in turns;
in the third century the Christian Spaniards came here. The 16th and
17th centuries were the "golden age" of Seville: just after the
Discovery of America this city was the main trade port of the Spanish
Empire. Nowadays it is the fourth-largest city in Spain and an important
industrial and tourist centre.

[{Image src='01_Seville, Spain.jpg' caption='Seville, Spain' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='404'}]

Unlike many other cities of Spain, Seville was not trying to get rid of
its Moorish past, so it resulted in the unique appearance of the
streets. This is the place where you can witness a lot of monuments
created in the synthetic architectural style called Mudejar, which
combines both European and Moorish elements. This style was also
dominating in the creation of Plaza de España. It looks so different
from everything you used to see, that it was used as a location for
filming "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones".

[{Image src='02_Plaza de Espana.jpg' caption='Plaza de España' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='804'}]

The main landmarks of Seville are located on the east side of the
Guadalquivir river. Though the ancient fortified wall including its 66
towers could not survive the previous centuries, other witnesses of the
glorious past managed to remain till nowadays. The ancient part of the
city is called Casco Antiguo with its labyrinth of narrow streets. And
one of the most famous of them is Calle Sierpes where you can come
across ancient marble villas built by the Romans.

Altogether there are 74 temples in the city, but the Cathedral of Saint
Mary of the See (Catedral de Santa María de la Sede) is a very special
one. It was built between 1401 and 1519 on the place of a former mosque.
Being 116 meters long and 76 meters wide, this Cathedral is the third
largest Christian cathedral in the world (after St. Peter's Basilica in
Rome and St. Paul's Cathedral in London), and actually the largest one
among gothic cathedrals. Next to it you can find the city's most
well-known symbol — a bell tower known as Giralda with 22 melodic bells.
It was built in 1196 and initially had the height of 82 meters; four
centuries later the height was raised up to 114 meters.

[{Image src='03_Giralda.jpg' caption='Giralda' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='635'}]

Not the less important monument is the royal palace of the Alcázar of
Seville. It was built between 1350 and 1369 on the place of a former
Moorish citadel. For more than seven centuries it had been serving as a
residence for the Spanish kings. Despite the gothic elements which were
added in the 16th century, it is still one of the greatest examples of
Mudéjar architecture.

Only three buildings out of all the monuments of Seville are UNESCO
World Heritage Sites. Apart from the Cathedral and the Alcázar palace,
there is also the General Archive of the Indies (Archivo General de
Indias) which is the repository of extremely valuable archival documents
illustrating the history of the Spanish Empire in the Americas and the
Philippines. Designed by the architect Juan de Herrera in 1572, this
building is an outstanding example of Renaissance architecture.

[{Image src='04_Seville, Spain.jpg' caption='Seville, Spain' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='406'}]

One more symbol of the city is the Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold), which
was built in 1220. Originally created as a watchtower, subsequently it
was used as a prison, then a warehouse and a department of the port
service. In the 18th century it was seriously damaged by the earthquake,
soon after the reconstruction it became the building for the Maritime
Museum.

The Church of St. Louis of the French (La iglesia de San Luis de los
Franceses) is the brightest example of the Baroque style, created by the
architect Leonardo de Figueroa. Decorated with carvings, frescos,
sculptures and paintings, nowadays this cathedral functions as museum.

Not only the architecture of Seville made a contribution to the world's
cultural heritage. This city is also the location for many world-known
operas, such as Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" and "Don Giovanni",
Verdi's "La forza del destino", Beethoven's "Fidelio", Rossini's "The
Barber of Seville" and Bizet's "Carmen". Everyone should take a walk in
such a wonderful city, at least virtually!

\\ \\
[10 Panoramas of Seville|Geography/Europe/Spain/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Seville]












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