Seville: Other Ecologies and Public Space

The monumental Seville built of stone, brick, and ceramics coexists with a greener Seville that strengthens its identity as a meeting point for civilizations. The dispersion of plant species across the planet has occurred through wind, animals, and human travel; in the first cases, nature has acted as the primary distributor, while in the last, the expansion of different civilizations has generated a kind of “cultural” evolution of nature itself. From this perspective, Seville can be understood as a mosaic of gardens shaped by multiple cultures, each adding its own species, aesthetics, and sensitivities in line with the networks of exchange established over centuries. The city has functioned as a crucial node for the acclimatization and dissemination of plant species worldwide: first through Mediterranean cultures who located in this region—imagined as “the end of the world”—the mythical Garden of the Hespérides; later through Al-Andalus, which renewed hydraulic techniques and introduced Eastern plants to Europe,

This long history is reflected in the diversity of Seville’s gardens: palace spaces such as the Real Alcázar or Casa de las Dueñas; intimate convent gardens scattered throughout the historic center; Enlightenment-era promenades like the Paseo de las Delicias; exotic corners such as the Museum and Cristo de Burgos gardens; romantic environments like María Luisa Park; and modern urban projects such as the greenway along the Guadalquivir River and the expansive Alamillo Park. Together they form an unexpected palimpsest—what landscape gardener Gilles Clément describes as a “planetary index”—where natural and cultural layers intertwine across centuries.