Seville Cathedral
Catedral De Santa María de la Sede de Sevilla (Seville Cathedral) is said to be the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. Indeed, its massive exterior was impossible to ignore. There were interesting features, like ornate portals and bumpy pinnacles and flying buttresses. But there was no obvious main facade and no dome visible from street level. Each side was so different that my photos could have been of entirely different buildings. With all that bulk and lack of cohesion and symmetry, I thought of Seville Cathedral as “impressive” rather than “beautiful.” I did love the Giralda, the cathedral’s marvelous bell tower.
Seville Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It replaced a 12th century grand mosque, and after more than 100 years of construction, it was completed in 1506. Having just seen the cathedral in Toledo, Steve and I had planned to check out Seville Cathedral after Amy’s visit. But she wanted to see it, so we booked a last-minute guided tour (the only type of ticket left for that day).
I hadn’t planned to do a guided tour, preferring to explore the cathedral at my own pace. But the tour turned out to be great. Our group was given access to key parts of the cathedral that the public could not enter. We felt like VIPs!
My first impression of Seville Cathedral was that it was gloomy. The interior was dim, and the vaulted ceilings were stained, as if moisture were seeping through. Massive stone pillars impeded my view. It was better at the center of the main nave, where I could get the full effect of the cathedral’s massive size. Spotlights on the ceiling over the transept made the intricate Mudéjar decorations glow.
Some highlights from our tour:
The Chapel of La Antigua had a huge Byzantine-style marble altarpiece, showcasing the famous fresco of the Virgin of Antiquity. It is widely believed that the fresco was miraculously discovered behind a wall in the mosque by Ferdinand III when he conquered Seville.
Christopher Columbus was entombed in a box carried by giant pallbearers representing the four kingdoms of Spain. DNA testing recently confirmed that the remains were those of Columbus, but some still have doubts.
In the center of the Choir was a large music stand, decorated with carvings of the muses. It could be rotated so that all choir members could see the (very much enlarged) sheet music. Amy noticed that the bishop’s chair (cathedral) nearby had legs of different lengths to match the steps it sat on.
The Main Altar had the world’s largest altarpiece, more than 75 feet tall, made from carved wood covered in paint and gold leaf. It was so excessively decorated that it was difficult to make out the scenes from Jesus’ life.
The Main Sacristy had a domed ceiling and was richly decorated in Renaissance style. There were many treasures here, including a huge silver monstrance, candlesticks and tabernacles, and a rather morbid collection of saints’ relics.
Our tour ended in the Courtyard of the Orange Trees, an intact part of the old mosque. Above us towered the Giralda, which had been the mosque’s minaret. It was later converted to a bell tower, topped with a unique weathervane - a statue of the Greek goddess Nike. We were eager to see the view from the top of that tower!
Inside the Giralda, we walked up on wide ramps, not stairs - long ago, those ramps enabled the muezzin to ride a donkey to the top of the minaret and do the call to prayer five times a day. After 35 ramps and 17 stairs, we were at the top! There were 25 bells overhead, and sweeping views of the city.
Okay, despite my first impressions, Seville Cathedral was magnificent, and I loved the elements that had been preserved from the old mosque. The guided tour was a great value for just 20€. But bigger is not always better. In my opinion, Toledo Cathedral is much more beautiful. If you don’t have time to see both cathedrals, I recommend seeing the one in Toledo. And if you do have time for Seville Cathedral, I recommend the guided tour.
