Architecture Across the Centuries

(Happy Independence Day to our American friends!!)


When we left our casa this morning, we crossed the bridge and walked along the river. We poked our head into Seville’s bullring, but decided not to go in. Further down the river, we came to the Tower of Gold.

It is a 12-sided tower that was built by the Moors in 1220 as part of a wall to keep out the Christians. No longer required for its original purpose, it now serves as a Naval museum and a nifty look-out. We climbed the 91 stairs to the top to take in the view. On the way back down, we enjoyed the novel navel paraphernalia, including a shark skin; many antique maps; and models of Christopher Columbus’ three ships.


It seems that the Spaniards like to build their Palaces next to the main Cathedral. So that was our next destination.


First, we visited the Palace which was astounding. The Alcázar was built in the 14th century and its architecture, called Mudéjar, is a mix of Moorish carvings, ceramic tiles, and Christian influences.

There were so many unique and exquisite motifs. It was mesmerizing.

One room had a display of the immense variety of ceramic tiles. Lukas enjoyed discovering the tiles as actual decoration in the floors or walls in other rooms. We spent well over an hour and a half roaming from room to room (totally devoid of any furniture or relics), just admiring the details in the walls, ceilings and even the floors.

After a small respite of (of course) ice cream, we entered the Cathedral. It is the third largest in the world and was built on the site of a 12th century mosque. Even though much of the mosque architecture is incorporated into the building, it took over 100 years, beginning in the 14th century, to construct.

This building is not only famous for its mammoth size and Gothic architecture; it also houses the tomb of Christopher Columbus.

The kids thought he must have been a small guy. This is very likely true due to the stature of people at that time; however the small size of the coffin is exemplified by the 4 oversized statues of knights carrying it.


The other highlight of the Cathedral was the Giralda, or bell tower, which was 91 meters high. There were no stairs to climb, only a series of ramps, due to the fact that the tower was once a minaret, which was ascended by a muezzin on horseback.


At the top, we had an amazing panoramic view of the city, as well as an interesting perspective of Cathedral itself.

The belfry contains 25 bells of varying sizes, one of which rang while we were up there. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as piercingly loud as I had feared…

…what was that you said???