Architecture sights in Seville
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A
Cathedral
Seville’s immense cathedral, officially the biggest in the world, is awe-inspiring in its scale and sheer majesty. It stands on the site of the great 12th-century Almohad mosque, with the mosque’s minaret (the Giralda) still towering beside it. After Seville fell to the Christians in 1248 the mosque was used as a church until 1401. Then, in view of its decaying state, the church authorities decided to knock it down and start again. ‘Let us create such a building that future generations will take us for lunatics’, they decided (or so legend has it). The result is a cathedral measuring 126m long and 83m wide.
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B
Parroquia del Divino Salvador
The Plaza Salvador, which has a few popular bars, was once the forum of Roman Hispalis. It's dominated by the Parroquia del Salvador, a big baroque church built between 1674 and 1712 on the site of Muslim Ishbiliya's main mosque. Before the mosque, early Christian churches stood here, and before them, a Roman temple.
At the time of writing the church was closed for restoration work and archaeological investigation, but on its northern side, the mosque's small patio remains open, with a few half-buried Roman columns.
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C
Capilla de San Antonio
The sheer size of the broad, five-naved cathedral is obscured by a welter of interior decoration typical of Spanish cathedrals. The chapels along the northern and southern sides are as rich in sculpture, stained glass and painting as any church chapels in Spain. Near the western end of the northern side is the Capilla de San Antonio, with Murillo's large 1666 canvas depicting the vision of St Anthony of Padua; thieves excised the kneeling saint in 1874 but he was found in New York and put back.
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D
Capilla Mayor
Towards the east end of the main nave of the Cathedral is the Capilla Mayor, whose Gothic altarpiece is the jewel of the cathedral and reckoned to be the biggest altarpiece in the world. Begun by Flemish sculptor Pieter Dancart in 1482 and completed by others by 1564, this sea of gilded and polychromed wood holds more than 1000 carved biblical figures. At the centre of the lowest level is the 13th-century image of the Virgen de la Sede, patron of the cathedral.
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E
Sacristía Mayor
The large domed Sacristía Mayor is a Plateresque creation of 1528-47: the arch over its portal has carvings of 16th-century foods. The room's centrepiece is the Custodia de Juan de Arfe, a huge 475kg silver monstrance made in the 1580s by Renaissance metalsmith Juan de Arfe. In a glass case are the city keys handed to the conquering Fernando III in 1248.
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F
Hospital de los Venerables Sacerdotes
Once a residence for aged priests, this 17th-century building now holds roving art exhibitions and has a lovely central courtyard.
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Judería
Seville's medieval Judería, east of the cathedral and Alcázar, is today a tangle of quaint, winding streets and lovely plant-decked plazas perfumed with orange blossom. It's tourist central, but still a vital part of the city and one that's remarkably easy and pleasant to wander.
Its most characteristic plaza today is Plaza de Santa Cruz, which gives the barrio its name. Its central cross, made in 1692, is one of the finest examples of Seville wrought-iron work. Plaza Doña Elvira is another beautiful spot.
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