Seville: an historical and descriptive account of "the pearl of Andalusia"Calvert, Albert Frederick
History
Seville: an historical and descriptive account of "the pearl of Andalusia"
Calvert, Albert Frederick
Art -- Spain -- Seville; Painters -- Spain; Seville (Spain) -- Description and travel
The southern façade is flanked by sacristies, offices, and courts,
above which appear the graceful flying buttresses, gargoyles, and
windows, and the majestic dome of the main building. In the middle of
this side is a modern entrance, the Puerta de San Cristóbal, added by
Casanova in 1887. In the eastern façade are two entrances--the Puertas
de las Campanillas and de los Palos--both enriched with fine sculpture
by Pedro Millan; the Puerta de los Palos has also a fine Adoration of
the Magi by Miguel Florentin (1520).
On the northern side of the Cathedral we find the most important
remains of the pre-existing mosque, the Giralda, already described,
and the _Patio de los Naranjos_, with the original fountain at which
the Muslims performed their ablutions. The _patio_ is entered from the
street by the Puerta del Perdón, a richly decorated horseshoe arch
erected by Moorish hands by order of Alfonso XI., to commemorate the
victory of the Salado in the year 1340. In the sixteenth century this
door was restored and adorned with sculptures. The colossal statues
of Saints Peter and Paul, in terra-cotta, are the work of Miguel
Florentin. He was among the earliest of the Renaissance sculptors
to settle in Spain. By him also is the relief of the Expulsion of
the Money-Changers from the Temple, celebrating the substitution of
the Lonja or Bourse for this gate as a rendezvous for merchants. The
plateresco work was executed by Bartolomé López in 1522. The doors date
from Alfonso’s reign, and are faced with bronze plates, on which are
Arabic inscriptions.
Close to the Puerta del Perdón is a shrine built in the wall with a
Christ on the Cross by Luis de Vargas.
Entering the _patio_, to the right we find the Sagrario, or parish
church, and to the left (reached by a staircase) the Biblioteca
Colombina or Chapter Library, founded by Fernando Colon, son of
Christopher Columbus. Among the treasures it contains are a manuscript
of the great discoverer’s travels, with notes in his own hand; a
manuscript tract, written by him in prison, to prove that the existence
of America was not contrary to Scripture; the sword of Garcia Perez
de Vargas, the great hero of the conquest of Seville, and a very
interesting thirteenth-century translation of the Bible.
The northern façade of the Cathedral is entered through three portals,
the westernmost of which, the Puerta del Sagrario, is unfinished.
The Puerta de los Naranjos and the Puerta del Lagarto lead from the
_patio_. The Puerta del Lagarto retains some traces of its Moorish
origin. It is named after the patched and painted stuffed alligator,
which has hung here since about the thirteenth century. Here may also
be seen a huge elephant’s tusk, and a bridle said to have belonged to
the Cid.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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