So here’s the question: who is buried in Christopher Columbus’ tomb? And do you know where it is? Well, the Sevillians believe he is buried in the tomb in the Cathedral here in Seville. They have done DNA testing and say there is no reason to believe it isn’t him! However. When he died, he was first buried in Spain,then sent to The Dominican republic, Cuba and returned to Seville when Cuba became independent from Spain in 1900. (DNA testing is also being done to determine if he is a son of Italy or Spain, as well!).
The Cathedral where Columbus’ tomb rests (whether or not he is in it) is one of the 3 largest Cathedrals in the world (after St. Peter’s in Rome and London’s St, Paul’s.) When they ripped down the mosque on this site the reconquista christians bragged: We’ll build a cathedral so huge that anyone who sees it will take us for madmen!” This landmark is probably the best in Seville.
We were disappointed yesterday when we saw the Alcazar; another famous landmark. After having seen the Alhambra and other Moorish architecture, this “Christian version” of Moorish architecture leaves a lot to be desired. There are too many things going on and not enough of substance. Of course we could not see the hall with some reputedly wonderful Tapestries, so that was a disappointment. The apartment with artifacts related to Christopher (buried across the street) was a bit interesting.
Back to the Cathedral. It was spectacular-in scale and design. While it is rich with gold and silver artifacts, it wasn’t as overwhelming as some other Cathedrals and churches we have visited. The metal grills were gorgeous and the alter piece is the largest ever made: 65 feet tall with 44 scenes from the life of Jesus. This alter took three generations (80 years) to complete! Many of the stained glass windows were from the 15th century…mostly in great condition!
We also made a visit to the Basilica de la Macarena (“hey…macarena!”) I had read about this in Mitchner’s book and in guide books. The biggest event in the year here in Sevilla is the week leading up to Easter. There are parades with wonderful floats throughout the streets and people and floats are decorated elaborately. The two most famous floats come from this Basilica.
These are 1.5 and 3 tons respectively and are covered with gold leaf and silver articles, etc. etc. The most famous article in the church, however is the Weeping Virgin at the center of the church. She is a 17th century doll with human hair and dressed in elaborate robes and accessories and has a crystal tear on her cheek. The Basilica itself is really quite intimate and lovely. We felt we really saw some of authentic Sevilla by visiting this church.
And by hours and hours of walking. I mean hours! Yesterday and today we covered about 2/3 of the city on foot-through all kinds of neighborhoods, old and new, rich and poor, commercial, residential and shopping. We walked through one entire neighborhood dedicated to wedding clothes; another to Flamenco clothes and accoutrements and even stopped in a store that had matador clothing where oddly enough we bought Jack a panama hat (in Spain?). While we found it interesting to do the bus tour for a panorama view of the city and to see the main sights (like the churches and alcazar) the neighborhoods were the most interesting. The predominant colors of the building were a ochre/gold and rust red and other yellowish/ pastels. Most have grill work. Many have interesting details such as door-knockers or flowers in the windows. Some evidence of the infamous pottery (which we didn’t see much of to purchase).
Typical Architecture
So far, Sevilla is our least favorite city of the tour: Granada ranks first, Cordoba second and Sevilla third. It’s the largest city and like many other large world cities, it seems to have lost its focus and cohesiveness. Of course, we didn’t hit much of the night life and it could have been found there in the Flamenco…which we will see in Madrid.
So tomorrow morning, we take the AVE train to Madrid and connect with another train to Toledo where we will spend two more days.
Photo of our hotel courtyard:
No comments:
Post a Comment