Santa Cruz neighborhood, in Seville

One of the best walks you can do in the city of Sevilla is the Santa Cruz neighborhood, in the heart of the old town and with centuries of history. It will be an enchanting walk, giving you the opportunity to take beautiful pictures and learn a lot about this ancient and cultural Spanish city.

Recall that Seville's old town is one of the largest in Europe and the largest in Spain: It occupies almost four square kilometers and has a very rich cultural, architectural and monumental heritage. Let's see that we cannot overlook here, what to see ...

Santa Cruz, an old corner within an old neighborhood

As we said above, Santa Cruz is the name of one of the neighborhoods that make up the Old Town of Seville. It is worth remembering that under the name old town we refer to the historical period prior to the Industrial Revolution. It is in the streets of this old town where you will find the Alcázar or the Cathedral, for example.

Beyond the Arab and medieval times, we must not forget that Seville has a roman past under the name Hispalis. From this time you can still see three columns of the portico of a second century temple, today on Marmoles street. Only three have reached the XNUMXst century, a shame because in the Middle Ages there were still six. On the other hand, before the expulsion of the Jews it was in these streets that the Jewish quarter of Seville that, it is worth remembering, in the time of Ferdinand III of Castile it was the second largest Jewish community in Spain after Toledo.

What to see in Santa Cruz

The streets of the Jewish quarter are still there, intertwined in a part that is known as the San Bartolomé neighborhood. They will not be very touristy streets but they are authentic and for that reason picturesque. There is the parish of the same name and the Convent of the Mercedarias and Palace House of Miguel de Mañara, where today the headquarters of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía operates. Also, today Hostal Casas de la Judería was formerly the palace of the Padilla family.

You can visit the Church of San Nicolas and Church of Santa María la Blanca which is from the seventeenth century and has been built on top of a synagogue. Another palace is the Altamira palace. On the other hand next to the wall of the old Alcázar are the Murillo Gardens, which are accessed by walking along the water street. The gardens reach up to the ring road.

Agua Street is also a charm in itself. Sometimes it is called Callejón del Agua and it is nothing more than a walk around the walk that goes hand in hand with the wall and that reaches the wall of the Alcázares. It is on this street that you will see the washington irving yard, American writer representing Romanticism who was also a diplomat and who toured Spain enchanted by the Hispanic-Muslim culture.

If you start the walk through the Triumph Square, named this way because the cathedral was not affected by the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, you are going to find the Cathedral of Sevilla, Cathedral of Santa María de la Sede. It is a huge Gothic-style temple that apparently began to be built just at the beginning of the XNUMXth century on the land where a mosque used to be.

Another famous monument of Seville still stands from the Arab temple, the tower called the Giralda 104 meters high, and next to it the Courtyard of the Orange trees whose flowers in spring fill the city with their scent. It is a rectangle, an old Muslim ablution courtyard, and stands out in it, in addition to the Naranjos, a fountain whose cup is of Visigothic origin.

The cathedral has undergone different changes and each one brought a style. After the Christian reconquest, the building was used the same for a century and a half and only after did it begin to undergo modifications in the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical and Neo-Gothic styles. Today it is one of the most visited buildings in Europe and there is no tourist in Seville who does not step on it.

Its exterior facades are wonderful and inside there are five naves and many chapels whose lighting enters through many windows and stained glass.

Nearby is also the General Archive of the Indies and the Reales Alcázares. Everything, together with the cathedral, form the Heritage declared some years ago by UNESCO. Once you have visited the whole complex, you can leave the Plaza del Triunfo by a passage that will take you to the square of Santa Marta, a small square with four orange trees and a XNUMXth century transept. Formerly a hospital used to work here, where there is a convent whose entrance is the square itself.

Another corner in Santa Cruz is called Courtyard of the Flags, right next to the Reales Alcázares. From here you have wonderful views of the Cathedral and its tower, the Giralda, which is more than one hundred meters high. The Santa Cruz Square, on the other hand, it is a corner with a church of the same name, decorated with many orange trees. The original temple was demolished in 1811, under French occupation, but the most important thing is that very close to this square there is another: the Refiners Square.

Until the XNUMXth century there was a section of wall here. Today there is a monument that recalls Don Juan Tenorio, a XNUMXth century literary character who was taken up again in the XNUMXth century by José Zorrilla. The Plaza Virgen de los Reyes can be another good starting point for the walk. The Corral d elos Olmos used to work here and today it offers a unique postcard: a square with a lamppost fountain and around it the Giralda, the Archbishop's Palace, the Cathedral and the Convent of the Incarnation.

Other popular squares are the Plaza de la Alianza and Plaza de Doña Elvira, with the house of Doña Inés de Ulloa, the love of Don Juan Tenorio and a house that takes a thousand photographs a day. You can even stay there, if you want, as there is the Elvira Plaza Boutique Hotel, next to the Vinela Tapas and Wine Bar. The Venerables Square It is another possible destination as it is very lively and has great places to eat on the go, as well as a beautiful manor house with a patio and fountain.

As you will see, the Barrio de Santa Cruz is all about squares, patios and streets. Among the latter is Mateos Gago street, which begins behind the Cathedral and was widened in 1923, is today the heart of tapas in the city. A great place to stop for a drink and a bite to eat on the walk. Here, in one corner, is the famous Santa Cruz Las Columnas Winery, for example. Another popular street is Street of the Crosses, in the shape of a small square and a calvary with three columns with iron crosses in the center.

They are also the Gloria streets, Susona, old street of death and street life. If you go as a couple, you will surely like to follow a tradition to kiss in the Corner of the Besor, a little corner that can be reached by walking along Gloria Street. To see flowers, geraniums, bougainvillea and jasmine, there is the pepper street, to contemplate and photograph a typical Sevillian house with a patio and excellently well restored is number 4 of the Justino de Neve street. This house works today as Suite Apartments.

In reality, each street and each square in the Santa Cruz neighborhood has its own treasure. You have to walk and walk through them and each turn of the corner will reveal one. What are you waiting to meet them?


Be the first to comment

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

*

*