Seville

Seville (Spanish: Sevilla) is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain, crossed by the river Guadalquivir. It is the capital of Andalusia and of the province of Sevilla. The inhabitants of the city are known as Sevillanos. The population is about 700,000 people, making it the fourth largest city in Spain (just after Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia); the metropolitan area has a population close to 1,300,000.

History

Legend has it that it was founded by the equally legendary Greek hero, Hercules. It was named Hispalis under the Romans. The influence of 800 years of Moorish occupation and their architecture predominates.

The city was long an important sea port, prior to the silting up of the Guadalquivir. It sits well inland, but a mere 6 meters above sea level. Much of the Spanish Empire's treasures from the New World came to Europe via Seville, and Seville still holds the most important archive of the Spanish conquests in the Americas.

It was the home of Expo 92. The showpiece bridge across the Guadalquivir was designed by renowned architect Santiago Calatrava was built for this occasion. Seville also hosted the European Summit in June 2002; this was met with a counter-summit by those opposing neoliberalism and the tightening of European regulations on immigration.

Seville is known for its hot summer weather.

Sights

The city's great Cathedral was built from 1401 - 1519 after the Reconquista on the former site of the city's mosque. The interior is lavishly decorated, with a large quantity of gold evident. The Cathedral reused some columns and elements from the old mosque, and most famously the Giralda, originally a minaret, was converted into a bell tower. It is topped with a statue representing Faith. The Giralda is the city's most famous symbol.

The Alcazar is the city's old Moorish Palace; construction was begun in 1181. Additional construction continued for over 500 years.

The Parque Maria Louisa was built for the 1929 Exposición Ibero-Americana World's Fair, and now is landscaped with attractive monuments and museums.

Education

• University of Seville
• Pablo de Olavide University

Sports

Home town of two rival soccer teams Sevilla FC and Real Betis Balompié.

Motto

The motto of Seville is "NO8DO". The "8" is shaped like a wool hank, in Spanish madeja. This makes the motto, as a rebus read "NO madeja DO" which is a pun on "no me ha dejado" = "she did not abandon me". This refers to the city's support for King Alphonse X in the war with his son Don Sancho in the 13th century. This motto is seen throughout Seville, inscribed on manhole covers.

Seville in fiction

• Seville is the primary setting of Bizet's opera Carmen.
• Seville is the setting of the novel and film Nadie conoce a nadie, which incorporates the elaborate Sevillian processions during Holy Week.

Photos

External links

• City councils (in Spanish only)

Seville is also the name of a place in the State of Ohio: see Seville, Ohio.