Seville (
Spanish:
Sevilla [seˈβiʎa], see also
different names) is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern
Spain. It is the capital of
Andalusia and of the province of
Sevilla. It is situated on the plain of the River
Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of 7 metres (23 ft) above sea level. The inhabitants of the city are known as
Sevillanos (feminine form:
Sevillanas) or
Hispalenses. The population of the city of Seville was 699,145 as of 2007 (
INE estimate). The population of the
metropolitan area (urban area plus satellite towns) was 1,450,214 as of 2007 (INE estimate), ranking as the fourth largest metropolitan area of Spain.
The Cathedral of Seville, also known as Catedral de Santa María de la Sede (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See) is the Cathedral of the city of Seville in Andalusia. It is the largest Gothic cathedral and the fourth largest Christian church in the world.
The Plaza de España is one of Seville's most easily recognised buildings and the epitome of the Moorish Revival in Spanish architecture. In 1929 Seville hosted the Spanish-American Exhibition and numerous buildings were constructed for the exhibition in Maria Luisa Park, among them the Plaza designed by Aníbal González. On the Park's edge was built the current Plaza de España to showcase Spain's industry and technology exhibits.
The Plaza is a huge half-circle with buildings continually running around the edge accessible over the moat by numerous beautiful bridges . In the centre is a large fountain. Today the plaza mainly consists of Government buildings, but the beauty remains. A popular way to view the exhibition is by renting out a rowing boat and drifting around the moat. By the walls of the Plaza are many tiled alcoves, each representing a different province of Spain. Tourists can have their photo taken by their own home province.
The Torre del Oro (Spanish for "Gold Tower") is a military watchtower built in Seville, Spain during the Almohad dynasty in order to control access to the city via the Guadalquivir river. The tower was built as part of the defensive works running from the Alcázar to the river. The tower may have received its name from the golden tiles which cover its dome and may have once adorned the rest of the tower.
Constructed in the first third of the 13th century, it has twelve sides, and from its base a chain would be stretched, underwater, across the river to another fort on the opposite shore, thereby preventing enemy ships from traveling upstream to the port of Seville. The Castilian naval force commanded by Ramón de Bonifaz broke this defense, helping Ferdinand III of Castile capture Seville in 1248. The final and highest addition to the tower was made by Sebastián Van der Borcht in 1760.
The tower served as a
prison during the
Middle Ages and as a secure enclosure for the protection, at times, of precious metals periodically brought by the
fleet of the Indies, another possible origin for the tower's name. This last naming theory was actually created by some tourist guides to deceive tourist. In fact the tower has been called Torre del Oro since at least 1248, when Fernando III gave it to an italian named Nicoloso de la Torre del Oro.
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