Andalucia November 2000
Don Porter
12/14/2000

Sevilla

We spent most of our time in Seville, seeing the local wonders and wandering around appreciating the beauty. Our apartment (Apartamentos Murillo) is located on Reinoso Street in the heart of the Santa Cruz quarter, which is known for its ancient tiny streets and alleys and as the home (800 years ago) of the Jewish quarter.Right around one corner was the Plaza Santa Cruz, next to the Murillo Gardens. In Plaza Santa Cruz we saw a Flamenco show at El Gallo (a bar named "the rooster"). In the other direction, the wall of the Alcázar was 100 meters away (although that took 4 or 5 corners to find). And on the plaza with the Alcázar entrance is the Cathedral with its Giralda tower, built (1184-1198) by the Moors with a helical ramp inside instead of stairs, so they could ride a horse to the top (well, almost -- to the level where the bells are now). Another nearby neighborhood is Arenal, where the old port of Seville received all the New World gold in the 16th-17th centuries. Across the Guadalquivir River is the Triana neighborhood, home of superb tile craftsmanship. Just south of Barrio Santa Cruz is the Macarena quarter, named for the Virgin of Macarena, the patron saint of Seville. Also nearby is the palace built in the 16th century by Don Fadrique Enriquez de Ribera and still occupied (in part) by the ducal Medinaceli family -- known as "Pilate's House" (Casa de Pilatos) perhaps because its creator was awed by a trip to Jerusalem. Just north of Santa Cruz is the Antigua Fabrica de Tabacos (old tobacco factory), where Bizet's Carmen worked, and across the street, the Parque Maria Luisa, home of the 1929 Exposicion Iberoamericana (and home of a zillion white doves). The Iberian hams hanging from the ceiling in the little shop are a feature of almost every restaurant in Seville, and they are justly famous. Italica, 6 km. from Seville, was founded by the Romans in 206 BCE. Many tile mosaics remain at the site, and others (like this Medusa and the others in the Lebrija patio) were moved into Seville for preservation.

 

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Alcazar1 Alcazar2 Alcazar3 Alcazar4
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AlcazarGardens AlcazarMaze ApartmentMurillo ArenalHouse
AlcazarGardens.jpg AlcazarMaze.jpg ApartmentMurillo... ArenalHouse.jpg
BetweenJails CasaPilatos1 CasaPilatos2 CasaPilatos3
BetweenJails.jpg CasaPilatos1.jpg CasaPilatos2.jpg CasaPilatos3.jpg
Cathedral CathedralGiralda Flamenco1 Flamenco2
Cathedral.jpg CathedralGiralda... Flamenco1.jpg Flamenco2.jpg

 

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