After Al-Andalus, the Muslim portion of the Iberian Peninsula (the source of the present-day name for the south of Spain, Andalusia) broke up into multiple kingdoms in the 11th Century, Seville emerged as the most powerful city in the area. This being the case, a combination fortress/palace known as the Alcazar was built. It underwent expansion and decoration over the years, and as a palace it probably worked pretty well. But as a fortress it was less successful, being unable to keep the Christians out, with the city falling to them in 1248. Eager to put their own stamp on the place, the new Christian rulers replaced or heavily renovated most of the palace. The style among Christians of the time was Gothic, with its characteristic lofty spaces and pointed arches, and a Gothic palace was built on the Alcazar grounds. But the new rulers also found themselves drawn to the elaborate Islamic workmanship found throughout Andalusia. In 1364 King Pedro I of Castile hired some of the remaining Moorish designers to build another palace in a new style, a merging of the Gothic and Islamic now known as mudejar. Extensive gardens in the adjoining area were designed and redesigned over the centuries, resulting in a partitioning into areas with contrasting styles. Along with the nearby Cathedral and Archivo de Indias (home to numerous documents related to Spanish involvement in the New World), the Alcazar is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The entrance to the Alcazar grounds is across the Plaza del Triunfo from the Cathedral, through a portal on the right. This portal is called the Lion Gateway, named for a panel of tiles above it depicting a lion with a crown and cross (added in 1894).

We entered through the Gateway, paid our money (7.50 Euros apiece) and passed through a courtyard called the Lion's Courtyard into another courtyard, called the Hunting Courtyard. This gave us a view of what is probably the architectural highlight of the complex, the Palace of Pedro I.

King Pedro, also known as Pedro the Cruel (he apparently dealt with rivals by having them assassinated), had the palace built over a period of just two years, with completion in 1366. The building replaced a Moorish one on the same site, which he had demolished. But he didn't get a chance to enjoy the new palace much, as he himself was personally assassinated by his half-brother Henry in 1369, at the age of 34. But the palace was much enjoyed by ensuing royal families, and the upper floor remains a royal residence to the present day.

We entered the palace and looked around, finding it to consist mainly of smallish rooms surrounding a courtyard with a long reflecting pool, called the Maidens' Patio. This courtyard has found its way into the movies, appearing in Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven in 2005. There is another small courtyard in the palace, called the Dolls' Patio, and the remainder of the ground floor seems to consist of a succession of connected rooms. The workmanship is gorgeous throughout.








Behind Pedro's Palace is a large area occupied by gardens of various styles, some large, some small and some compartmentalized. Closest to the palace are gardens of Mannerist style (a style that succeeded the high Renaissance), planned by the architect Vermondo Resta early in the 17th Century. These are the smallest and most compartmentalized of the gardens.




A little farther from the palace is the larger Damsels' garden (named for statues of goddesses which have disappeared in the years since the garden was named), also laid out by Resta. This garden is centered on a fountain featuring a statue of Neptune.


Bordering the Damsels' Garden is a long wall called the Grotto Gallery. This 525-foot-long wall contains a covered walkway that separates the Mannerist gardens from some larger gardens, including the 19th-Century English-style Poets' Garden. We gave the Poets' Garden a quick look and returned to the Damsels' Garden.





Reachable through a tunnel off the Dance Garden are the María Padilla Baths, a roofed-over pool which is said to have been a favorite spot of Pedro I's mistress, María Padilla. The story of María Padilla is that Pedro took a fancy to her and had her husband killed, and Ms. Padilla disfigured herself with boiling oil to repulse Pedro's advances. María ended up in a convent and is a symbol of Sevillian purity.

From the gardens we entered the Gothic Palace, which also borders them. This palace, though interesting, is not nearly as distinctive as Pedro's Palace. It contains a room of elaborate tapestries.



After leaving the Gothic Palace we did some wandering and found ourselves back in the Hunting Courtyard. We walked over to the building to the right of Pedro's Palace and found ourselves in the Admiral's Quarters, a room where a number of expeditions to the New World were planned. There was an adjoining chapel to this room, no doubt used on occasion to solicit divine assistance to the success of the expeditions.


Further wanderings found us displays of splendid fans and tiles. Fans are used in Spain as instruments of concealment and flirtation, and of course to help keep one cool in the Spanish heat. Tiles are used extensively in Spanish architecture, particularly in Andalusia.


We exited the Alcazar grounds through a doorway that dumped us back out into the Plaza del Triunfo, where we had a nice view of the Cathedral.

By this time it was well past 5:30, but since this was summer, there was still plenty of daylight to be had. We struck out for the city's Museum of Fine Art on the far side of the old town – it was open until 7:30, and wasting all that daylight would have been shameful.