The cathedral is a magnificent building, the largest in Spain, and greater than St Paul’s in London. Gautier said that “Notre Dame de Paris might walk erect in the middle nave.” There are seven naves with monstrous columns, the loftiness of the interior conveying a sense of vastness which has been often described by travellers. More than a hundred years were spent in the building of this great church, and several architects planned the various parts during that period. Ruiz and Rodriguez designed the greater portion, and the last of the architects was Juan Gil de Houtañon, who planned the cathedral of Salamanca. The chief front is finely decorated, and has three portals, with statue groups and reliefs. There is so much of beauty and interest in the interior that I can only write briefly of a few of the most notable objects. The stained windows number over seventy, and they are chiefly by Aleman, a German, and by Flemish artists of the sixteenth century. The choir altar has pictures, and a handsome plateresque screen. There are splendidly carved stalls, and a notable lectern. The sacristy is near the chief façade, with a high dome, several chapels, and some interesting statues. The retablo is by Roldan, a follower of Montañez.
Murillo’s “Vision of the Holy Child” is in the Capella del Bautisterio. In the Royal Chapel, which is interesting Renaissance work, richly ornamented, there are the tomb of Alfonso the Wise, and an old figure of the Virgin. Pedro Campaña’s altarpiece, in the Capilla del Mariscal, should be seen. In the south transept is the noted “La Gamba,” a painting by Luis de Vargas. The ornate Sala Capitular has the “Conception,” by Murillo, and a painting by Pablo de Céspedes, who was a sculptor, poet, and painter, born at Cordova, and made a canon of the cathedral in that city. Céspedes was a fine portrait painter, and has been described as “one of the best colourists of Spain.”
The Sacristy de las Calices of the Capilla de Nuestra Senora de las Dolores contains Goya’s well-known painting of Saints Justa and Rufina, the potter-girls who were martyred by the Romans. Here also will be seen a picture by Zurbaran; “The Trinity,” by El Greco, the crucifix carved by Montañez, and a “Guardian Angel,” by Murillo. The Capilla de Santiago has paintings by the early artists Valdés Leal and Juan de las Roelas.
Close to the cathedral is the semi-Moorish Alcázar, with its strangely mingled styles of architecture. The buildings are in part a fortress, while within the walls are portions of a palace of the sultans and a residence of Christian kings. The rich frontage of Pedro’s palace is composite, and probably only the gate is purely Moorish. In the Court of the Maidens there is much gorgeous decoration. As in the Alhambra, we see the characteristic gallery with delicate columns, and arches with ornamental inscriptions. The Hall of the Ambassadors is the pride of the Alcázar. Here again we shall notice several orders of architecture, but the effect is impressive. The portals are sumptuous, and the whole place and decorations suggest the opulence and might of the early Catholic kings.
I like the old gardens of the Alcázar, with their tiled walks, their clustering roses, their alcoves and arbours, and quaint fountains, all enclosed by an ancient wall. Here sultans dreamed, and kings retired from the cares of government, to breathe the scented air of evening. Quiet reigns in these flowery courts, only the voices of birds are heard among the orange-trees and tangled roses.
There are many beautifully adorned chambers in this palace of delight. Alfonso, Pedro, Isabel, Charles, and Philip all reconstructed or added to the wonderful pile first erected by Yusuf. The old buildings once stretched to the river, the Golden Tower forming one of the defences. Before the Moors came to Seville, a Roman prætorium stood on this ground, and it was in 1181 that the Morisco architects began to plan the Alcázar. Much of the present building is of Mudéjar, or late Moorish, origin. The details that should be studied are the pillared windows, the marble columns, the fine stalactite frieze, the arches, the azulejos of dazzling colour, the choice decoration of the doors, the marble pavements, and the half-orange domes—all representative of the art of the Mudéjares.
We must now inspect some more of the monuments of Seville. King Pedro’s Church, Omnium Sanctorium, is an example of mixed Christian and Mohammedan architecture, with a minaret and three portals. The Ayuntamiento is an exceedingly flamboyant building in the Plaza de la Constitucion, with two façades, one of them fronting the Plaza de San Fernando. The older and finer front was designed by Riaño.
The Archbishop’s Palace, which dates from the seventeenth century, is not a good example of the plateresque style. The only picture in Seville by Velazquez, a much restored canvas, is in the palace. The Lonja (Exchange) was built by Philip II., and finished about 1598. It is a square, imposing structure, but scarcely beautiful in form or decoration. A splendid doorway, very luxuriantly decorated, is that of the Palace of San Telmo, where there are very lovely gardens.
The modern life of Seville concentrates in the two principal plazas, in the Calle de las Sierpes, and in the Park of Maria Luisa. Very pleasant are the palm-shaded squares and the walks by the Guadalquivir. In the tortuous white alleys you come unexpectedly upon charming wrought-iron gates, through which you catch glimpses of cheerful patios. Some of these lanes are so narrow that a pannier-mule almost bars your road. And above this fair city the sun shines almost perpetually, while the smokeless air has a wonderful clarity.