Get lost in Seville’s unique mix of history, art, and Flamenco with these local-favourite spots. Photo / 123rf
Get lost in Seville’s unique mix of history, art, and Flamenco with these local-favourite spots. Photo / 123rf
Seville may not be the first city you think of when someone mentions Spain, but as one of the country’s most seductive, it’s one you’ll reminisce about a long time after leaving, writes Demi Perera
“Sometimes, I can’t believe that I can do this,” says Fernando Aguado as we finish watching a YouTube video on a free-standing screen. We are in his crammed, three-room studio in Seville. I’m seated on the edge of a sofa covered in a white canvas throw. Aguado stands opposite me across a small glass table, staring at the screen, remote in hand. If not for his humble demeanour, I might have confused his words for arrogance. Dressed in a blue check shirt and black trousers, his dark hair parted sideways, he speaks in a hushed tone.
The 13-minute video showed Aguado, Seville’s most respected artist and image-maker, chiselling and painting an enormous stump of cedar wood into Christ, moments after death. No detail was spared: Christ’s head weighed back, his bleeding body limp with agony, knees bruised, nails chipped and face, conversely, blissfully at peace with his fate. The sculpture now sits at an altar in Cordoba.
A Sevillian by birth, Aguado carved his first statue in 2003 and set up the studio in 2014 where he continues to be inspired by Seville, which he considers to be the epicentre of Spanish religious art.
In a sensory city such as Seville, where the tap of Flamenco can be heard at every corner, the wind carries the scent of orange trees and tapas and wine keeps you out late into the night, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed as you walk around.
Aguado recommends adding these 10 places to your itinerary to feel the magic of Seville.
Seville Cathedral
Seville’s city centre is the legacy of its most powerful successive rulers: Roman, Arabic, Andalusian, Renaissance, Baroque, Latin American and Marian. Seville Cathedral, with its courtyard of orange trees, La Giralda minaret and La Giralda weathervane at the top, is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world and home to works of Spanish painters Esteban Murillo, Francisco de Goya and Alonso Cano among others.
Seville Cathedral, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, has an orange-tree courtyard and centuries-old artwork. Photo / Unsplash
The Real Alcazar
The Real Alcazar, a royal palace, has been utilised by successive rulers and their families since the late 11th century. While its famous courtyards and tiled plinths have sparked many a debate, The Real Alcazar is perhaps best known for holding the Archives of the Indies.
During the 15th and 16th centuries the building was chosen as the central location for holding documents relating to Spain’s overseas possessions; an invaluable archive of 800 million pages recording the daily workings of the Spanish empire which includes the journal of Christopher Columbus.
The Real Alcazar, a royal palace, holds 800 million pages documenting Spain’s colonial history. Photo / 123rf
Santa Cruz Quarter
Santa Cruz is a maze of narrow streets, plazas and squares, dating back to 1248, where the second largest Jewish population in the Iberian Peninsula once lived. The labyrinth of cobbled lanes and tightly packed, white-washed homes were designed to provide shelter during hot Sevillian summers. The Jewish community was forced out of Spain during the 14th century but Santa Cruz has remained one of the most beautiful places in Seville.
Aguado highlights that the cathedral, the Alcazar and Santa Cruz together form an important cross-section of Sevillian history where Jewish, Arab and Christian culture intersected.
Santa Cruz Quarter, once home to Seville’s Jewish community, is a maze of narrow, shaded streets perfect for summer strolls. Photo / 123rf
Iglesia del Salvador (Church of the Divine Saviour)
“This church holds an outstanding collection of art and Sevillian altarpieces,” says Aguado. Built on the site of a mosque, between 1674 and 1712, there can be no finer example of Seville’s Baroque religious art than Iglesias del Salvador on Plaza del Salvador. Considered an architectural jewel, the pink brick exterior hides an interior of intricately sculpted golden altarpieces glistening under the flood of light falling from the soaring dome of the roof.
Basilica de la Macarena and Basilica del Gran Poder
“Seville cannot be understood without visiting the Basilica of La Macarena and the Basilica of Jesus del Gran Poder. They’re more than religious icons. They are part of daily life and important non-religious pillars of the city,” says Aguado.
The Basilica of La Macarena houses one of the city’s most beloved figures, the Virgin of Esperanza Macarena. The Basilica of El Gran Poder is home to the Lord of Seville, a figure that transcends religious faith and forms part of the city’s soul.
The Basilica of La Macarena houses one of the city’s most beloved figures, the Virgin of Esperanza Macarena. Photo / Getty Images
Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Art)
“This is one of the most important galleries for Seville because it shows the significance of the city’s prominent painter, Murillo, and Spanish painter Zurbarán,” Aguado says. The former convent building holds a collection spanning from the 15th to the 20th centuries. At the head of the church hangs La Inmaculada Concepción painting by Murillo.
Paseo de Colon
“The riverbank along Paseo de Colon is important to experience because it shows Seville’s role as a port for the Indies,” says Aguado.
The Spanish crown bestowed the nickname Port of the Indies on Seville when Christopher Columbus first set off to the Americas from here. Between the 15th and 16th centuries, Seville became the gateway to the Indies, monopolising trade with the Americas.
Paseo de Colon, an avenue along the Guadalquivir river, is dotted with connections to this maritime past. The Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold) is the unmissable 36m tower that controlled the shipping route; preventing enemy ships from entering but permitting ships arriving from the Latin American colonies to unload their cargo of gold at the tower.
Seville’s Paseo de Colon was the departure point for Christopher Columbus on his way to the Americas. Photo / 123rf
Maria Luisa Park and Plaza de Espana
Aguado considers Maria Luisa Park a testament to the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 – a world fair held in Seville between 1929 and 1930. The southern end of the city was beautified with parks, gardens and boulevards in preparation for the exhibition with Maria Luisa Park at the centre.
“Maria Luisa Park and the famous Plaza de Espana represent Sevillian regionalist architecture at its best. The gardens and fountains are perfect for relaxing after a day of exploration,” he adds. The park stretches along the Guadalquivir. Horse-drawn carriages carry visitors on nostalgic trips around waving palm trees, glistening ponds and tall pines. Plaza de Espana is a curved 800m of tiled pavilions, ponds and fountains with four bridges over a moat. Thousands of visitors walk the curved path and paddle boats around it.
Maria Luisa Park, designed for the 1929 World Fair, is now a beloved green escape with fountains and horse-drawn carriages. Photo / 123rf
Plaza de la Campana and Calle Sierpes
“To feel the buzz of Seville, go to Plaza de la Campana and Calle Sierpes where locals and tourists mingle between shops, cafes, and bars,” Aguado says.
These historic streets are considered the arteries of Seville where a mix of traditional and modern shops sell everything from tobacco to Flamenco dresses. The blue and yellow facade of La Campana confectionery store is the oldest shop which has stood in its corner since 1885.
Plaza de Espana’s sweeping tiled pavilions reflect each of Spain’s provinces. Photo / 123rf
Triana
Finally, Aguado recommends that we cross Puente de Isabel II bridge over Guadalquivir to Triana. This traditionally working-class neighbourhood is the heart and soul of Flamenco and has produced some of Seville’s best Flamenco dancers and bullfighters. At the end of the bridge, steps on the right lead down to 200-year-old Triana Market which buzzes like a hive.
Fishmongers, butchers, and greengrocers conduct daily business as Sevillians fill their bags with visibly fresh produce. Cafes serve coffee with hot pastries and people gather around tables to socialise and exchange news before heading home.
Checklist
SEVILLE, SPAIN
GETTING THERE
Fly from Auckland to Seville Airport with two stopovers with Emirates, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines on a Star Alliance Codeshare basis.
