Seville: Islamic, Renaissance and Colonial

The strong influence of Middle Eastern cultures, connected to Seville for more than 800 years through Al-Andalus, plays a fundamental role in shaping the city’s identity. Our visit begins at the Reales Alcázares, a palace in Mudejar style whose architectural language later inspired the Alhambra. Key elements of this heritage include the Golden Tower, the Silver Tower, the Patio de los Naranjos, the Giralda Tower, and the surviving remains of the ancient Zoco preserved in the Church of San Salvador. As we walk through the Santa Cruz neighborhood, the former Jewish quarter, we will be surrounded by the evocative atmosphere of traditional Sevillian patio houses, where the scents of orange blossom, the play of light and shadow, and the presence of water features create environments full of mystery and sensory richness.

Seville was also, for more than two centuries, the administrative and commercial center of Spain’s activity in the Americas, and this period of economic and cultural expansion produced extraordinary public buildings. Notable examples include the Town Hall (1527, by Diego de Riaño), the Cathedral—the largest Gothic cathedral in the world—the Custom House (1584, by Juan de Herrera, now the Archive of the Indies), the Royal Shipyards, the Royal Tobacco Factory (1728, now part of the University of Seville), and the University of Mariners (1682, now the San Telmo Palace). The city is also home to numerous palaces and merchant houses that represent a unique Andalusian Renaissance style blending classical and Islamic motifs in ways unparalleled elsewhere; places like Casa de Pilatos, Casa de los Pinelo, Casa de Salinas, or the Dueñas Palace deserve dedicated tours of their own.