Wednesday February 12 was a cloudy day with a high of 17C-- a bit cooler than the last few days. Good weather for visiting La Catedral de Sevilla, the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world.
It is only about a 20 minute walk from the apartment to the Cathedral. We passed the two Roman columns in La Alameda de Hercules.
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| Enjoy passing these two columns |
We passed a lawyers' office with wonderful tiles and a lovely courtyard. The tiles in Sevilla are plentiful and in very good condition.
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| Another peek into a doorway |
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| One of our favourite buildings- just heading into Constitution Avenue |
We arrived at the entrance to the Cathedral. The entrance had a copy of the weather vane that graces the top of the Giralda tower. There was only about a 20 minute wait to enter and the line moved quickly.
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| Copy of original weathervane. The original was made in 1568 by Bartolome Morel |
A bit of history: construction of the main mosque of Seville and its minaret were constructed between 1184-1198. The minaret was built by Ahmed Ben Baso who also built minarets in Marrakesh and Rabat in Morocco (both of which we have seen). Parts of the original mosque are conserved in the Orange Tree Courtyard and in the lower sections of the Giralda tower (the lower section is from the original minaret). In 1248, after the "Reconquest" by Ferdinand III, the mosque was declared a Cathedral. The Gothic Cathedral was constructed between 1434-1517. The upper parts of the Giralda tower was completed between 1558-68.
The Baroque phase of the Cathedral with various additions took place between 1618-1758. The last significant works on the Cathedral took place between 1825-1928. In 1987, the Cathedral was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and in 2010 it was declared as a Site of Exceptional Universal Value.
The total area occupied by the building is 23,500 square metres. The Cathedral is the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world and the third largest Cathedral in the World (after the Vatican and a Cathedral in Brazil).
After getting our tickets, we entered a small room with some beautiful paintings mostly (but not all) done by painters from the Sevillian Baroque School during the Golden Age of Spain in the 17th century. We had seen works by a number of these artists at the Hospital de los Venerables, which we visited yesterday.
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| Francisco de Zubarán, 1645-1650- Virgen del Rosario |
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| Juan Valdés Leal hacia 1665- San Pedro liberado por el Angel |
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| Francisco Pachero 1619- Immaculada con Miquel del Cid |
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| Artemisia Gentileschi 1622-25- La Magdalena |
Entering the Cathedral, one is overwhelmed by the height of the ceiling, the size, the luxury and the opulence.
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| Entering the main part of the Cathedral |
There is an extraordinary collection of stained-glass windows, considered the most extensive and best preserved in Spain.
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| Altarpiece by Manuel Garcia Santiago (1752) |
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| The organ |
One section had the tomb of Christopher Columbus. There are four heralds folding the coffin, representing the kingdoms of Castile, Leon, Aragon and Navarre.
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| Tomb of Christopher Columbus- Arturo Mélida 19th century |
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| Incredible soaring ceiling |
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| Francisco de Goya 1817- Santa Justa and Rufina |
There was a section in the middle of the Cathedral featuring incredible textiles and vestments.
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| Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1655- San Leandro |
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| Francisco de Zurbanán, 1641-1658- Santa Teresa |
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| Capilla del Mariscal (The Marshall's Chapel) |
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| Monstrance of St. John of Nepomuk acquired in Rome by Cardinal Solis. Italian workshop, c. 1775 |
The Sala Capitular (Chapter House) was build between 1558-1569 by Hernán Ruiz II. It was the first elliptical area built in the Spanish renaissance and possibly the first in Europe.
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| Murillo 1667- The Immaculate Conception |
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| Flooring in the Chapter House inspired by the design Michelangelo did in Rome. The floor dates to `592. |
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| San Isidoro picture |
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| Main Altar |
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| Stained-glass window of the House of Zettler (1880): The Coming of the Holy Spirit and the donors |
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| Stained-glass window made by Juan Bautista de León (1685) Santa Justa and Rufina. Reformed in 1813. |
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| 1777 dated window |
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| Murillo (1654)- Vision of San Antonio |
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| Baroque work- 1730s |
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| Ceremonial shoes- 19th century |
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| Another view |
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| Cape 18th century |
After exploring all the nooks and crannies of the Cathedral, we proceeded up the 34 ramps to the top of the Giralda, the bell tower built on top of the minaret. The ramps were easy to climb. Our Free Tour guide had told us that ramps rather than stairs were built so that the muezzin in charge of calling the people to prayer could climb to the top on his horse.
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| One ramp going up |
Once we got to ramp 34, there was a small stairway to an observation area. There were fabulous views of the city and the Royal Palace located next to the Cathedral.
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| Looking down at the orange grove courtyard |
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| View of the Royal Palace |
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| Bells at the top of the Giralda |
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| Another view of the Royal Palace |
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| The roofs of Sevilla |
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| The River in the distance |
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| View from the top! |
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| Looking back at the top of ramp 34 on our descent |
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| Orange grove in the courtyard |
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| Seville oranges in February |
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| Yes-we made it to the top of the tower |
After our visit to the Cathedral, we decided to have a late lunch at La Brunilda, a highly recommended modern tapas restaurant. Lunch is served from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. We got there just before 3:00 p.m. and had an excellent meal.
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Outside of La Brunilda-- on a very small street
We shared a warm salad with mushrooms and grilled chicken; and delicious roast pork and potatoes. These are "tapas" portions and two dishes are more than enough.
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| Part of the menu |
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| Roast pork and potatoes |
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| Alano and the warm salad |
We headed back to the apartment to pack and rest up prior to heading out for a late dinner. We went to Eslava, apparently one of the busiest tapas bars in Sevilla- attracting folks from all around the city. It happens to be about three minutes from our apartment. We were lucky to get seats at the inside bar. There was an eating area outside, but it was quite chilly and folks had blankets. Wonderful food and friendly service. Very buzzy at 9:15 p.m.
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| The bar and menus at one end |
We had razor clams; pork cheeks; mackerel with salsa and fried anchovies (forgot to take pictures of those two dishes); and an amazing manchego cheese dessert that the server said was non-lactose. Two glasses of red wine and bread.
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| Razor clams--- one of my favourites |
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| Melt in your mouth pork cheeks on potatoes |
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| Amazing manchego cheese dessert |
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| At the bar |
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| Heading out-- buzzy scene |
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| Folks eating outside at Eslava |
Today was our last full day in Sevilla. We would highly recommend folks travelling to Spain to spend some time in this city. Fascinating history, lots of culture and wonderful food. We walked everywhere and enjoyed great weather for a February get away.
We leave tomorrow at 12:50 p.m. on a train to Málaga where we will be for the next two weeks. We arrive at about 2:45 p.m. Hope you will join us on the next phase on our journey.
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