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 (a building containing numerous documents related to Spanish involvement in the New World), the Alcazar is designated as 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.

Palace of Peter I Med   Lrg   Xlg

Palace of Peter I MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD

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.

Calligraphy, Palace Vestibule Med   Lrg   Xlg

Archway, Palace Vestibule Med   Lrg

The Maidens' Patio Med   Lrg   Xlg	The Maidens' Patio Med   Lrg   Xlg
Passageway Toward Dolls' Patio Med   Lrg   Xlg	The Dolls' Patio (Patio de las Muñecas) MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD
The Dolls' Patio Med   Lrg   Xlg	The Ambassadors' Hall (Salón de los Embajadores) MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD
Ceiling, the Ambassadors' Hall Med   Lrg	The East Room Med   Lrg   Xlg
Corner of Room Med   Lrg	Archway Med   Lrg
Window Med   Lrg   Xlg	Window, Side Room to Infantes' Rooms Med   Lrg   Xlg

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.

Doorway, Flower Garden Med   Lrg   Xlg	Arches, Garden of Troy (Jardín de Troya) Med   Lrg
Palm Tree Med   Lrg   Xlg	Fountain, Dance Garden (Jardín de la Danza) Med   Lrg   Xlg
Grotto Gallery and Estanque de Mercurio MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD	Estanque de Mercurio and Grotto Gallery Med   Lrg

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.

Nella and Neptune's Fountain, Damsels' Garden Med   Lrg   Xlg

Neptune's Fountain, Damsels' Garden Med   Lrg   Xlg

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 more, larger gardens, including the 19th-Century English-style Poets’ Garden. We gave the Poets' Garden a quick look and returned to the Damsels' Garden.

The Grotto Gallery (Galería del Grutesco) Med   Lrg	The Grotto Gallery Med   Lrg
Bob, Poets' Garden Med   Lrg	Poets' Garden Med   Lrg   Xlg
Peacock, Poets' Garden Med   Lrg   Xlg	Nella in Poets' Garden Med   Lrg   Xlg
Fountain, Poets' Garden Med   Lrg	Return to the Damsels' Garden MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD

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.

Door and Allegorical Tiles, Vault Room Med   Lrg	Vault Room MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD
Battle Scene, Tapestry Room Med   Lrg   Xlg	Charles V's Campaign Against Tunisia Med   Lrg   Xlg

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.

Virgin of the Mariners (1535) Med   Lrg   Xlg

Altarpiece with Virgin of Antigua (18th C.) Med   Lrg   Xlg

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

Fans (French) Med   Lrg   Xlg	Fan Med   Lrg   Xlg
Tiles Med   Lrg   Xlg	Tiles Med   Lrg   Xlg

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.

Cathedral Through Archway Med   Lrg   Xlg

The Giralda Med   Lrg   Xlg

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 Fine Art Museum on the far side of the old town – it was open until 7:30, and wasting all that daylight would have been shameful.