La Catedral de Santa María de la Sede de Sevilla

The largest Gothic church in world and the third largest Christian church after St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, the Cathedral of Seville is the city’s most important and visible architectural monument. Along with the towers of the Plaza de España to south, it dominates the medieval four story skyline of the city center. Built atop the foundations of a former Islamic mosque dating to the twelfth century, construction on the bulk of the present Christian structure continued throughout the fifteenth century. Although much of the original mosque was demolished during this process, the minaret and courtyard, now the Cathedral’s bell tower and the Patio de los Naranjos, respectively, remained virtually intact. As a final testament to the ages, Roman columns fashioned by the city’s earliest inhabitants were placed in a continuous ring about the building.

Referred to simply as La Giralda, the cathedral’s bell tower is one of the more cherished sights in the city. The elaborate Almohad brickwork from the original mosque remains, although the top of the structure has been crowned by an elaborate renaissance belfry. Visitors to the Cathedral can now climb to the top of La Giralda to see the very finest view in of the city.

Within the Cathedral are housed some of the finest works by the Spanish masters (at least those that were not stolen by the French during the Napoleonic invasion of the early nineteenth century). A large amount of silver work also testifies to Seville’s colonial past and its position as the point of entry for Spanish bullion extracted from mines in the New World. In the northwest corner of the church, the royal banner raised by Fernando III in 1248 above the then mosque resides under glass.

The Cathedral also serves as the final resting place of Christopher Columbus (picture at bottom), at least officially. Although the famous explorer was first buried on the island of Hispaniola, the body was disinterred and taken to Havana in the late eighteenth century. After Spain lost Cuba to the United States in 1898, the remains were taken to Sevilla. The discovery of a casket bearing the name Cristobal Colón in Santo Domingo during the nineteenth century led some to believe that the actual body never made it off the island of Hispaniola. Although DNA testing appears to validate the remains in Sevilla, authorities in the Dominican Republic have never conceded to similar testing.

Stay tuned for a few lighter, less historical, posts in the next few installments.