Church Festivals. Most curious among these are the *Processions (pasos) of the brotherhoods during Holy Week, which attract crowds of spectators. They are best witnessed from the stand in front of the town-hall (seat for the 4 days 10 p.).—The *Feria (18–20th April), a picturesque popular festival, founded in 1847, is held in the Prado de San Sebastián (Pl. G, 1, 2), where wealthy families have their own tents.
Sights. Most of the churches are open in the morning only; the Cathedral (p. [63]) till 12 and after 3.30. In the Sacristía de los Cálices (p. [64]) a ticket (permiso) for this sacristia, for the Sacristía Mayor, the Sala Capitular, and the closed chapels is obtained for 2 p. The Capilla Real is open in the forenoon only (fee ½–1 p.). The services of the importunate guides to the Cathedral and the Giralda may be dispensed with. During Holy Week, when the churches are open all day, the inspection of their art-treasures is scarcely possible. Admission to collections in private houses and charitable institutions is readily granted as a rule, but seldom without difficulty on Sundays and holidays and during Holy Week. The usual days and hours of admission are—
*Alcázar (p. [61]), week-days 11–4; tickets (1 p.) are issued at the office at the back of the Patio de las Banderas (door No. 11).
Casa de Pilatos (p. [65]), daily (50 c., for the poor).
*Giralda (p. [62]), daily (25 c.); no one allowed to ascend alone.
*Hospital de la Caridad (p. [67]), daily (fee ½–1 p.); clear weather indispensable; afternoon light best.
*Museo Provincial (p. [66]), daily 10–3 (in summer 10–4). On Sun. the Archæological Museum is open till 1 only.
Two Days (when time is limited). 1st. Forenoon, Plaza de la Constitución (p. [65]), Cathedral (p. [63]), Alcázar (p. [61]); afternoon, Calle de las Sierpes (p. [65]), Casa de Pilatos (p. [65]); towards evening, ascent of the Giralda (p. [62]).—2nd. Forenoon, Museum (p. [66]); afternoon, Caridad (p. [67]), Paseo de las Delicias (p. [67]), and Parque María Luisa (p. [68]).
Seville, Span. Sevilla (33 ft.), a city of 145,300 inhab., the capital of Andalusia and of the province of Sevilla, the seat of an Archbishop and of a University, lies in a broad plain on the left bank of the tawny Guadalquivir, opposite the suburb of Triana. At flood-tide sea-going vessels of 23 ft. draught can ascend the river to the quays of Seville, which, though 54½ M. from the sea, can thus claim to be a seaport. The harbour is annually entered by about 1000 vessels, of 1¼ millions aggregate tonnage. The city combines the features of a seaport with gay scenes of popular life and a wealth of treasures of art. The houses in the narrow winding streets, the heritage of the Moorish period, often contain charming inner courts, called pátios, where the inhabitants spend most of their time in summer. The larger plazas or squares are mostly planted with oranges or palm-trees.
Seville, as its ancient name Hispalis indicates, was originally an Iberian settlement. Ever since the 2nd cent. B. C. its navigable river has made Seville a place of importance. In 411 it became the capital of the Vandals (p. [322]), and in 441 the seat of the Visigoth kings, who however migrated in 567 to the more central Toledo. During the Moorish period Seville, alternately with Marakesh, was a favourite residence of the Almoravides and Almohades (p. [95]); and particularly under Yûsuf Abû Yakûb (1163–84) and under Yakûb ibn Yûsuf (1184–98), surnamed Al-Mansûr (‘the victorious’), it was embellished with many sumptuous buildings, and for a time it even surpassed Cordova in population. The Christian period begins with Frederick III. (‘the saint’) of Castile, who captured the city in 1248 and made it his residence. Among his descendants was Pedro I. (1350–69), surnamed ‘the Cruel’, of whom many anecdotes are still current. Since the discovery of America Seville has prospered greatly and vies with Cadiz as one of the chief ports of Spain.