Introduction
Seville (also Sevilla) is located in the south-western part of Spain on the Guadalquivir River, some 60 miles from the Atlantic Ocean and 320 miles from the capital city Madrid. It is Spain’s third largest city, and historically the most important. Seville has frequently played a key role in Spanish history and has inspired many works of art, music, and literature—including the legendary Don Juan.

What to do
The city of Seville offers many possibilities to the tourists. You can enjoy spectacular flamenco shows, and concerts on streets, in bars or in the Auditorium. Isla Mágica is the pleasure and adventure park of Seville. For some easier activities, you can choose between going to the theatre, visit museums, the roman ruins of Itálica, or have a walk through the beautiful María Luisa Park. Even a simple sightseeing route through the city is enchanting. You can also combine the fun with the useful, and enrol in a course of Spanish.

Seville also offers you the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of visiting the local operas. The city has been the setting for some of the world’s best-loved operas: Bizet’s Carmen, Donizetti’s La Favorita, Beethoven’s Fidelio, Verdi’s La Forza del Destino, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, and Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. Although you may hear The Barber of Seville performed everywhere from Milan to Broadway, witnessing it in its hometown has a special charm of its own.

City at a Glance

Latitude 81.86768°W Longitude 41.02240°N Altitude 12 m above sea level Area 5.2 sq km Population 701,927 Language Spanish Religion Christianity

History
Legend has it that Seville was founded by Hercules. However, historians state that the Phoenicians established the coastal city of Cádiz as early as 1100 BC. There is evidence of the influence of Phoenician influence in the Seville area by the seventh century BC. Nevertheless, the earliest evidence of settlement in the city comes in the form of ruins of the trading post that grew up near what is now the Plaza de la Alfalfa.

The writings of the Greek philosopher Herodotus shed light on the Hellenic influence in the region. He alludes to Greek traders reaching the Straits of Gibraltar, and it seems likely that the considerable mineral wealth of the Sierra Morena mountain range of north Seville was a principal attraction to both the Greeks and the Phoenicians.

The Phoenicians were succeeded by the Carthaginians whose dominance over the region continued from the fourth to third century BC when, in 206 BC, they were defeated by the Romans. The victory of the Romans marked the beginning of a rule that continued for six centuries. Seville prospered and became a thriving trading centre under the Romans. Known as Hispalis, the Roman-occupied part lies to the southeast of what is the present-day casca antiguo (old city).

The decline of the Roman Empire saw the advent of barbaric tribes, such as the Vandals in AD 426. Another Germanic tribe, the Visigoths took over Seville and their dominance of Spain lasted another three centuries. The Byzantine Empire was a constant threat to the Visigoths in the sixth century, and perhaps Seville was then a border town between the two kingdoms.

The Muslim invasion from North Africa in AD 711 replaced the Visigoths, and Seville became a part of the Muslim kingdom the following year. Seville, the most important of the Spanish cities of the time, remained under the Muslims for 537 years. However, the division of Muslim Spain after the death of dictator al-Mans?r in the early 11th century paved the way for Seville to regain its power and prestige once again. The final blow to the Muslim rule came in 1248 when King Ferdinand III captured Seville and divided the city into areas for Jewish, Muslim, and Christian populations.

In 1503, Seville became the seat of the Casa de la Contratacion customhouse and was granted monopoly on trade with Spain’s new colonies. The city prospered, and with its prosperity it became, what the contemporary playwright Lope de Vega called, a “new Babylonia,” a paradise for tricksters and confidence men of all sorts. Great writers of the time like Cervantes, Quevedo y Villegas, and Mateo Alemán made the name of Seville synonymous with the picaro (rogue; a bohemian adventurer) figures that characterize the Spanish literature of the time. The wealth of Seville also attracted famous artists to the city including Murillo, Velázquez, and Zurbarán.

As the city of Seville experienced Spain’s sudden rise to power in the 16th century, it also witnessed its rapid decline in the 17th. While half the city’s population died in the plague of 1648, a working-class rebellion began shortly thereafter. Seville also lost the monopoly in trade to the Americas. Although this was compensated to some extent by the arrival to power of King Philip V in 1729, his rule was short lived.

The city made some cultural contribution in the 18th century, becoming a centre for flamenco music and for bullfighting. In 1808, however, Napoleon attacked Spain and Seville came under Napoleon’s army from 1810 to 1812. The city lost some of its precious art when Napoleon’s general took with him some of the best Murillo paintings in 1812. Nevertheless, the city continued to influence artists and writers in the 19th century. While Lord Byron was influenced by Tirso de Molina’s Don Juan, Prosper Mérimée was inspired to write Carmen by his experiences in Andalusia. These and a dozen other authors made Seville the capital of a romantic and often falsified Spain that captivated the imagination of the travellers.

The 19th century saw the construction of the Triana Bridge, the first bridge of Seville. The city was also shaped by the arrival of the railways and, most importantly, by the decision to hold the Ibero-American Exhibition in the city. The exhibition was not a commercial success, and plans to further foreign trade were frustrated by the economic crisis of the 1930s. The ensuing political upheaval in Spain culminated into the Civil War of 1936–39. The 1940s witnessed substantial population growth in Seville—the number of inhabitants rose from 281,000 to 376,000. After the election of the Seville-born Felipe González as the president of Spain in 1982, the socialist party undertook several measures to improve conditions in the hitherto neglected south. The biggest of these was the Expo ’92 World Fair, which attracted more than 100 participating nations, 43 million visitors, and more than $8 billion in infrastructure spending. Seville today is well known for its festivals, particularly the processions of the Semana Santa (Easter Week) and the Feria (April Fair), each of which are attended by more than 1 million tourists.

Weather and Best Season to Visit
Seville is quite hot in summer. It has the dubious reputation of being about the hottest part of Spain in July and August, often baking under temperatures that average around 93°F. August is the major vacation month in Europe and the traffic from France, the Netherlands, and Germany to Spain becomes a veritable migration, and low-cost hotels along the coastal areas are virtually impossible to find. The best time to visit Seville, both in terms of both weather and crowds, is the balmy month of May.

Attractions
Barrio Santa Cruz
The famous Barrio Santa Cruz is located amidst a honeycomb of narrow cobble streets, cafés, bars and plazas flanked by orange trees. It is part of the old Jewish quarter. Many of the well-known attractions of Seville are grouped here, the cavernous Gothic Cathedral with its landmark Giralda, the splendid Reales Alcazares with the royal palaces, the lush gardens of Pedro I and Carlos V, and the Archivo de Indias.

Churches
The churches of Seville display a fascinating variety of architectural styles. Hospital de la Caridad is a baroque church of the 17th century with an important collection of artworks. It belongs to the brotherhood of de la Caridad founded in the 11th century. It was restructured in 1644 by its chairman Miguel de Mañara, who is said to have been the model for the legendary Don Juan. The church is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3.30 p.m. to 6 p.m., and closed on Sundays and holidays.

Another baroque church, built in 1675, is the Hospicio de los Venerables. It is located in the heart of Barrio Santa Cruz and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The Iglesia del Salvador is Seville’s largest church. It was built in the baroque style in the 18th century over the ruins of a Moorish mosque. There are important sculpture works of Martínez Montañés and Juan de Mesa inside the church. It is open daily from 6.30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Alte Pinakothek/Neue Pinakothek (Old & New Art Museums)
Though they have a huge collection of art objects, space constraints have forced the museums to showcase only the masterpieces. In the Alte Pinakothek (Old Art Museum), there are works of Giotto, Fra Filippo, Lippi, Botticelli, Perugino, Signoreli, Leonardo da Vince (Madonna and Child), Titian, Tintoretto, El Greco, Ribera, Murillo, Roger van de Weyden, and Rembrandt. The most famous work displayed here is the Self Portrait by Albrecht Dürer.

The Neue Pinakothek covers the 19th and 20th century works of masters such as Gainsborough, Goya, Delacroix, Manet, Monet, Degas, Cézanne, van Gogh, Gustav Klimt, Max Beckmann, and Edvard Munch.

Museums
Seville has several excellent museums representing a wide range of subject and style. The Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares is an important museum devoted to traditional arts and culture of Spain. The Archaeological Museum covers a period dating back to Palaeolithic era, while the Casa de Pilatos and Ayuntamiento are examples of fine stately homes.

Art Galleries
That the city of Seville is beautiful does not come as a surprise, for it was home to some world-renowned painters and artists of Europe. Even today, there is a thriving art school in the city. The important art galleries include the Museo del Bellas Artes, Museo de Contemporaneo, and Casa de Murillo.

Parks
The Parque de Maria Luisa of Seville is one of the most beautiful city parks in Europe. Besides, there is the Plaza de España, as well as numerous plazas and open spaces where one can happily watch people for hours. The Paseo de Colon on the banks of the Guadalquivir River is another option for a leisurely stroll in the evening.

Important Festivals and Exhibitions
Semana Santa
The Semana Santa or Easter Week is one of the major Spanish festivals, which is celebrated particularly in Seville, Malaga, Granada and Cordoba. The week is marked by a series of processions in which pasos (large floats extravagantly decorated with religious themes) are carried down the streets by penitents wearing hoods. The marching penitents come from the cofradias, the brotherhoods of the church, who spend the weeks running up to the festival decorating the pasos. The bearers of the pasos (called costaleros) walk in time to traditional music and drumbeats. The processions begin from their home churches and wind through out the town, the last lap, before returning to their church of origin. The week’s climax is considered Good Friday morning when the pasos leave their churches at midnight and march through the town. The highlight of the night comes when the paso bearing the image of La Macarena, the patroness of bullfighters, arrives at the Cathedral.

Feria
The annual Feria in Seville began as a horse fair but is now a weeklong display of finery—people as well as horses. Families and businesses set up marquees in the Feria ground—some actually live here throughout the celebrations—and invite friends in for a glass of sherry and a dance. Bullfighting is an essential part of the Feria.

PLACES NEARBY
Nature lovers will be impressed by a visit to the neighbouring village of Carmona, or a little bit further away, the lowlands of Cazalla, Aracena, Grazalema and Ronda, and of course, the national reserve of Parque Nacional de Doñana.

For lovers of golf, the surrounding of Seville has a lot to offer. Andalusia has the highest concentration of golf courses in the world. There are also several beaches in the vicinity of Seville, including the ones located in the province of Huelva (Matalascañas, Mazagón, Punta Umbría) and Cádiz (Chipiona, Puerto de Santa María, Conil, los Caños de Meca).

SHOPPING
Most of the items associated with Spain—mantillas, castanets, wrought iron, flamenco dresses and ceramics—are available in Seville. There are two branches of El Corte Ingles, and even a branch of C&A on Calle Sierpes and a Mark & Spencer on Plaza Duque de la Victori.

After Hours
The many restaurants, bars and terraces of Seville guarantee an entertaining and thrilling nightlife to the tourists. Seville is the city with one of the highest concentrations of bars in Spain, and perhaps in Europe as well.

HOTELS
Taberna Del Alabardero (Four-Star Hotel)
Zaragoza, 20, Sevilla, Spain, 41001
Tel.: (34) 954 560 637
Fax: (34) 954 563 666
E-mail: escuela@ehs.es
info@estancias.com
http://www.esh.es

Best Western Hotel Becquer (Four-Star Hotel)
C/Reyes Catolicos 4, Sevilla, Spain, E-41001
Tel: (34) 954 228 900
Fax: (34) 954 214 400
Number of Rooms: 118

RESTAURANTS
Casa Mejías
Reyes Católicos 25
Tel.: (34) 954 564307
E-mail: mejias@sol.com