SEVILLA Information:
PARQUE DE MARIA LUISA and surrounding area |
|
In 1893, the infanta or princess
Maria Luisa Fernanda de Orleans, sister of Isabelia II, presented
Seville with the gift of the gardens of the San Telmo palace.
Twenty years later, Jean Forestier organised them into a park,
combining tree-lined areas and glorietas or circuses; interesting
examples are Becquer, for its romanticism, Hermanos Alvarez
Quintero, and Infanta Maria Luisa. In 1928, the park hosted
the Iberian-American Exposition, and a whole range of historicist
buildings were to house the pavilions of the countries participating.
Some of these have since become museums: the Mudejar pavilion
is now home to the Museum of Arts and Popular Customs, and the
plateresque pavilion houses the Provincial Archaeology Museum.
Both pavilions are by Anibal Gonzalez.
The most representative work by this architect is the Plaza
de España, built for the same occasion and forming part
of the regionalist trend, an architectural movement inspired
by traditional old houses from each region. Anibal Gonzalez
used two main materials, face brick and Seville tiling, decorated
with Baroque themes. The plaza, adorned with motifs from all
the provinces in Spain, is a circular area measuring 200 metres
in diameter which, with its towers, moat and bridges, has become
one of the emblems of Seville. The Colegio de San Telmo was
founded for the orphaned children of sailors.
The dukes of Montpensier had it fitted out in the nineteenth
century, and it was here where the idyll between Queen Mercedes
and Alfonso XII first began. It later be came an ecclesiastical
university and a diocesan seminary, and is now the presidential
building of the regional government, the Junta de Andalucia.
The best known work by Leonardo de Figueroa, it is a rectangular
civic building with a tower at each corner.
The front displays a great sense of movement, with gaps that
enter into the wall and then come out again to project a semicircular
balcony. It maintains the classical orders, though the decoration
resorts to numerous allegorical sculptures of the sciences related
to seafaring, and atlases to support the balcony and friezes,
replete with mythological beings. It is crowned by the statue
of St Telmo, patron saint of mariners. It was completed in 1722.
The Tobacco Factory, building for which began to be built in
1728, stands out for the harmony found in its construction,
the layout of the main courtyards, the sumptuousness of the
portal, the attention to detail and the richness of the decoration.
Built using well hewn stone, it is balanced in its size, measuring
185 metres by 147 metres. The interior is completely functional.
It is significant that a factory can become a work of art. The
adaptation to a university, in 1955, changed the initial structure,
which included 24 courtyards, 21 fountains, 10 wells and 87
stables for the horses used to grind the tobacco.
|
|
|
 |
More
Seville Tourism |
|
|
| |
| |
 |
CarMalaga car hire provides your vehicle right to you as you arrive
at Malaga Airport Car
hire Malaga Airport
|
 |
The best service |
|
Unlimited Km |
|
No coach needed |
|
No queues |
|
24h road assistance |
|
Full equipe |
|
Credit C. not required |
|
Free extra driver |
|
No waiting time |
|
All taxes included |
|
