Historic Cities · Spain
Seville through the ages
Seville is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula.
Seville in 1200
Almohad Seville
This is Seville at the height of Almohad rule: the city's great mosque now wears its new minaret and the river is guarded by a new watch-tower. The walk follows quays, gates, market lanes, the Alcázar gardens and the everyday quarters where potters, shipmen and cloth merchants move through orange-scented air.
Ishbiliyya in 1200 presents a compact medieval skyline: sun-baked mudbrick and fired-tile roofs, pale plastered walls punctured by high crenellated ramparts, the square brick-and-stone shaft of the mosque's new minaret rising above low residential roofs, and a stout river tower anchoring a guarded chain across the Guadalquivir. Streets are narrow and shadowed, courtyards bright with orange trees and glazed ceramic, and the riverfront is lined with boats and busy quays.
The walk — 22 streets, squares and views
River Approach to Ishbiliyya → Torre del Oro → Ribera Quays → Puente de Barcas → Triana Potters' Quarter → Puerta de Triana → Triana Fishmarket → Riverside by the Bridge → Puerta de la Macarena → City Walls and Bastions → …
Step inside — 12 interiors
Torre del Oro Vaulted Room · Potters' Workshop · Kiln Firing Chamber · Main Prayer Hall · Sahn of Orange Trees · Covered Silk Lane · Silk Weaver's Workshop · Portico of the Orange Court · Private Chamber with Lattice · River Gate Guardroom · Hammam Steam Room · Alcázar Audience Hall
Planned from the Wikipedia record: Almohad Caliphate.
Seville in 1570
Golden Age Seville
Seville in 1570 is the commercial heart of the Spanish Empire, where the Casa de Contratación organises the Indies trade and treasure fleets ride at the Arenal. The walk follows the river quays, the cathedral with the Giralda's new belfry, the Alcázar and the tight artisan quarters where pícaros, sailors and muleteers move silver, cloth and maps through the city.
Low, dense rooflines of tile and plaster crowd around the vast bulk of the cathedral; the Giralda rises, topped by its new Renaissance belfry. Muddy riverbanks and wooden quays line the Guadalquivir, flanked by dour stone towers and timbered workshops. Whitewashed palaces and Moorish‑born courtyards sit beside narrow sunken lanes; at river level masts, canvas and the glint of merchant chests animate a skyline of spires and cranes.
The walk — 22 streets, squares and views
Sanlúcar approach → Torre del Oro → El Arenal quays → Reales Atarazanas → Puente de Barcas → Puerta de Triana → Triana shipyards and potteries → Muelle de las Mulas → Lonja de Mercaderes → Casa de la Contratación → …
Step inside — 13 interiors
Arenal Ship Chandler's Yard · Great Carpenters' Hall · Santa Ana Church Nave · Potters' Kiln Workshop · Mule Warehouse and Loading Shed · Lonja Great Hall (under construction) · Casa de Contratación Map Room · Ledger and Archive Chamber · High Nave of the Cathedral · Cathedral Treasure Chamber · Ambassadors' Hall · Nave of San Salvador · Central Patio of Casa de Pilatos
Planned from the Wikipedia record: History of Seville.
Seville in 1929
Exposition Seville
Sevilla in 1929 is a city hosting the Ibero‑American Exposition, when newly built pavilions and the crescent of the Plaza de España announce Spain’s regional and overseas ties. This walk visits the exposition buildings in María Luisa Park, the newly polished Hotel Alfonso XIII and the bright ceramic work of Triana, passing flamenco cafés cantantes, busy shopping streets and the riverfront life along the Guadalquivir.
The 1929 skyline of Sevilla is low and punctured by the Giralda, pavilion towers and the Plaza de España’s semicircular brick and glazed‑ceramic façade. Exposition buildings fuse neo‑Mudéjar and regional Renaissance motifs: red brick, ornate plasterwork, cobalt and ochre azulejos, glazed ceramic benches and colonnades. The Guadalquivir brings reflected light; palm‑lined avenues and the dark foliage of María Luisa Park frame sunlit squares. Automobiles mix with horse carts; ceramic smoke and kiln heat rise across Triana’s riverfront.
The walk — 25 streets, squares and views
Arenal Riverfront → Puerta de la Macarena → Torre del Oro → Avenida de la Palmera → Hotel Alfonso XIII Exterior → Plaza de España Crescent → Plaza de América → Pabellón Mudéjar → Peruvian Pavilion Grounds → Paseo de las Delicias → …
Step inside — 12 interiors
Arabesque Marble Lobby · Ceramic Colonnade and Alcoves · Hall of the Discovery of America · Mudéjar Art Salon · Peruvian Archaeology Hall · Argentine Pavilion Theatre · Covered Commercial Arcade · Cathedral Nave and Choir · Salón de Embajadores · Colonial Documents Reading Room · Café Cantante Flamenco Room · Triana Pottery Workshop and Kiln
Planned from the Wikipedia record: Ibero-American Exposition of 1929.
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