SEVILLA Information: THE
RIVER AND ITS BANKS |
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The Torre del Oro. Built at the beginning of the thirteenth
century, this tower formed part of the Almohad defences of the
city. It is twelve-sided with an interior stairway, and has
a vault made up of triangular and square sections. The smaller
tower at the top dates from the eighteenth century. The tower's
name (Tower of Gold) derives from the fact that it was once
covered in tiles. The Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza, inaugurated
in 1761 (though not completed until 1881), is among the most
beautiful bullrings in the world. The stone column entrance,
between two tiers of roof tiling with pinnacles, has the appearance
of a church facade. The Salcon del Príncipe, with its
wavy arch, or painstakingly carved vaults, shows the quest for
perfectionism in the building plans. Inside, the high tier of
arches resting on columns and the sand of the ring itself complete
the make up of this highly original bullring.
The Caridad hospital and church were founded by Miguel de Mafiara,
a land-owning Sevillian who had enjoyed a libertine youth, who
legend has it was converted when he saw his own funeral go by,
and then dedicated his life and his fortune to caring for patients
of incurable diseases. The church front, by Bernardo Simon Pereda,
stands out for the areas of white ceramic and whitewash, blue
panels of glazed earthenware, the tower polychrome and concentrated
decorated forms. The mood in the interior is lightened by the
double courtyard designed by Leandro Figueroa, decorated with
fountains, eighteenth-century Dutch tiling and sculptures of
Mercy and Charity. A third courtyard displays a thirteenth-century
arch, the statue of the founder and some beautiful rose bushes,
planted according to tradition by Mafiara himself.
The paintings and sculptures in the church, which were selected
by the founder, reflect the concept of the vanity of life and
the meaning given to life by grace and works of mercy. At the
entrance, two famous pictures by Valdes Leal, the hieroglyphics
of our dying moments, express the triumph of death over the
world and over the powerful. Both as a whole and in their detail,
the two works are highly disturbing, In ictu oculi (In a Twinkling
of the Eyes), and Finis Gloriae mundi (End of Worldly Glories).
The Murillo paintings, with the story of Moses making water
flow from the rock, and the multiplication of the loaves, allude
to sacramental grace. St John of God carrying a sick man on
his shoulders, and St Elisabeth of Hungary curing sufferers
of ringworm, together with the burial of Christ, by Pedro Roldan,
in the main altarpiece, exalt the value of acts of mercy. The
vanity of life, the value of the Sacraments and hope in the
Resurrection form part of Manara's message through the Brothers
of Mercy.
The neighbourhood of Triana has always had its own personality
with regard to the rest of Seville. It most significant monument
is the Santa Ana parish church. Begun in 1276 and completed
the following century, it underwent continual renovations and
additions. The interior is Gothic, valuable and sober. The altarpiece
(one of the most artistic to be found in Seville) features paintings
by Pedro de Campana. The church contains) Renaissance and Baroque
tiling in the Bautismo and San Cristobal chapels, iron grille
screens from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and the
veneration of the St Justa and St Rufina, local potters martyrs.
Ca lie Pureza and Ca lie Betis are perhaps the most famous streets
in Triana. The first abounds in civic Baroque architecture.
Opposite the parish church, an eighteenth-century palace has
been restored, and a little further ahead there is another palace
from the seventeenth century. Calle Betis, with houses from
this same century and looking out onto the river, provides a
superb view of Seville.
The Isla de la Cartuja was the location for the buildings built
on the occasion of the Universal Exposition of 1992, which brought
modernisation to Seville with the construction of new bridges
over the Guadalquivir (built according to the latest architectural
aesthetics styles) and, particularly with the improvement of
the city's transport system with the introduction of the high
speed AVE train.
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