Sevilla

Title

Sevilla

Description

Partial view showing a procession in Seville with the cathedral and the Giralda (today's bell tower of Seville Cathedral) in the background.

ca. 1845

Artist

Anonymus

Historical Description

Seville - perhaps a foundation of the Phoenicians - was an important commercial center even before the arrival of the Romans and was called Híspalis in ancient times. The Moors, Islamized Berbers, conquered the city in 712. In 1248, after several months of siege, Seville was conquered by Ferdinand III of Castile as part of the Reconquista and has remained in the possession of the Christian Spaniards ever since. Peter I sent for Moorish craftsmen from Granada in 1363, who built the Alcázar Palace. The city acquired international economic importance in the 16th and 17th centuries, when it was the main hub of Spanish maritime trade and the center of Spanish art, namely painting. During this period, the port of Seville held the monopoly over overseas trade. Amerigo Vespucci and Ferdinand Magellan planned and started their voyages of discovery here. The Casa de Contratación was the Spanish administrative center for all American affairs; the former Seville Stock Exchange, the Casa Lonja de Mercaderes, still houses the India Archive.