Our main activity on Day 6 was visiting the Royal Alcázar of Seville, a majestic palace that has its origins in the 10th century and today is the oldest palace in Europe still in use by royals. The 10th century site was a citadel built for the governors of the local Moorish state and it was expanded into a larger palace complex by subsequent Islamic dynasties (Abbadid and Almohads). The palace underwent further changes after the Christian conquest of the city in 1248 with multiple renovations and additions that added Gothic, Renaissance, and Mudéjar elements. Very little of the original palace remains, although the Islamic influence is still seen in the Mudéjar designs and the name Alcázar, which comes from the Arabic word al-qasr meaning “castle” or “palace”.

After the Christian conquest the Gothic Palace (Palacio Gótico) was built by King Alfonso X. What exists today looks little like it did when it was built, due to constant renovations and damage the building suffered in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Of the Gothic Palace today, only the Sala de las Bóvedas and the Baños de María de Padilla, with their Gothic cross-ribbed vaults, have been preserved or partially preserved. But what has been well preserved and is the true star of the Alcázar? The King Pedro I Palace (Palacio del Rey Pedro I), sometimes also referred to as the Mudéjar Palace.

King Pedro 1 built his palace in the 1360s and it is considered to be one of the finest examples of the Mudéjar style in Spain. The work was done by Muslim workmen for a Christian king and contains the classic elements of Mudéjar design: Islamic elements such as lobed arches, slender columns, intricate stucco work, and geometric designs mixed with Christian motifs like coats of arms and animals. Much of this palace is intricate, ornate, and just jaw droppingly beautiful - it’s hard to know where to look because there is so much detail to take in. This is definitely a highlight of the Alcázar.

Even the beautiful King Pedro 1 Palace wasn’t immune to remodeling and tweaks by subsequent rulers. Under the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella and Fernando, the upper floor of the palace was expanded and transformed into their main residence. This area is still in use today by Spain’s monarchs when they visit Seville. These fifteen lavish, Versailles-like rooms are called Cuatro Real Alto (Upper Royal Apartments) and can be visited on a special tour purchased in addition to the standard Alcázar ticket. We were able to book one of these tickets and it was the first thing we saw at the Alcázar. Entry to the Alcázar is through the Lion Patio (Patio del León) into the Courtyard of the Hunt (Patio de la Montería), where the stairs to access the Cuatro Real Alto tour are located in a corner. We went through a metal detector/bag check, put everything in a locker (no photos allowed in the apartments), and set up our audio guide. All the information for this tour came through the audio guide as we were escorted from room to room by an Alcázar employee. The tour was roughly 30 minutes and I was glad we did it. It was cool to see this part of the Alcázar with a small group and no crowds (similar to seeing the King’s Private Apartments at Versailles).

After the Cuatro Real Alto tour we returned to the Courtyard of the Hunt and visited the rooms on the right hand side of the courtyard (facing the way we entered the courtyard from the entrance), collectively called Casa de la Contratación. Seville, connected to the ocean via the Guadalquivir River, was an important port city and the gateway to the Indies. In 1503 Queen Isabel I established the Casa de la Contratación de las Indias (House of Trade with the Indies), the institution responsible for regulating commerce with the New World, and it was housed in these rooms, including the Admiral’s Hall (Salón del Almirante) and Audience Chamber. In these rooms Columbus recounted his travels and Ferdinand Magellan planned his around-the-world cruise. We saw a model of the Santa Maria, a painting depicting Native Americans for the first time in European painting, and a large display of fans.

Back in the Courtyard of the Hunt, we approached the Palace Façade to enter the core of the Alcázar - King Pedro I’s Palace. When the palace was built it was structured around two courtyards, Courtyard of the Maidens (Patio de las Doncellas) and Courtyard of the Dolls (Patio de las Muñecas). The centerpiece of the open air Courtyard of the Maidens is the long reflecting pool surrounded by gardens and arches. But it didn’t always look like this. When King Pedro moved into the Alcázar with his mistress he wanted to recreate the ambiance of the Alhambra and hired Muslim workers from Granada to build this courtyard with its water and gardens (in the mid 1300s). In the 1580s the courtyard was paved over and it remained this way until the original construction was discovered in excavations in the 2000s and the beautiful Mudéjar garden was restored to its original state. The original courtyard was a single story and built in the Mudéjar style (decorative, lobed arches) and the upper floors were added in the 16th century in the Renaissance style (round arches, less decoration). It’s interesting to see the juxtaposition of the two styles and it’s illustrative of the long history of the Alcázar and its mix of occupants and design elements. The Courtyard of the Dolls also has this contrast of styles with the upper floors added in the 19th century. This courtyard is much smaller than the Courtyard of the Maidens and was built for the private use of the king’s family. It is named for the tiny doll faces at the base of one of the arches. An interesting feature of this courtyard is the white, black, and pink marble columns that were recycled from ancient Roman and Visigothic buildings.

The fanciest, most ornate room in King Pedro I’s palace is the Hall of Ambassadors (Salón de Embajadores). This was the king’s throne room where he received guests. It is cube shaped with a dome like many important Islamic buildings; the cube represents the earth and the dome is the starry heavens. The details in this room are the original work from the 1300s. I challenge anyone not to be wowed when stepping in this room - the details and intricacy of the ornamentation are incredible. From the intricate stucco designs to the geometric tiles to the golden dome - there is a lot to take in when standing in this room and it’s simply gorgeous.

One highlight of the Alcázar was the Hall of Ambassadors and another was the gardens. The palace has a large outdoor space comprised of smaller gardens, mixing Christian and Islamic elements like the palace does. The palace was pretty crowded in some rooms and it was nice to take a break in the gardens where there weren’t nearly as many people. We enjoyed wandering the pathways, taking in all the different pavilions, fountains, decorative tiles, and flora. We even saw a peacock hanging around. One spot we especially liked was Galería de los Grutescos (Grotto Gallery). This gallery is an old Almohad wall that was transformed into a covered walkway. It has openings on both sides, providing nice views overlooking the gardens. The gardens were lovely and a good place to end our tour of the Alcázar. We really enjoyed our time at the Alcázar - what a special place.

After an unremarkable lunch we visited Triana, a Seville neighborhood west of the Guadalquivir River. Triana has working class origins and was home to a once thriving ceramic tile industry. The industry dates back to Roman times when pottery was made with locally sourced clay from the river. The Moors added glazing techniques and created the painted ceramic tiles that became so common in the area. Not only were these tiles decorative, they also helped keep interiors cool during the summer and insulated against dampness. The industry went through its ups and downs until most factories were out of commission by the 1970s (one of the booms of the industry was during the run up to the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition when tiles were being produced for Plaza de España, which we visited the night before). Today there are only a small handful of artisans working in this area. Along with some pottery shops they can be found on Calle Alfarería.

One of the factories operating in Triana was Cerámica Santa Ana, which had its origins in the late 1800s and in 1939 was named Cerámica Santa Ana after Santa Ana, the patron saint of Triana. The factory was decommissioned in the 1970s and has been a protected historical monument since 1999. This protection meant that many features of the factory were preserved, such as the kilns and pigment mills, and made it an ideal site for a museum preserving and documenting the history of ceramic tile production in Triana. This idea came to fruition when Centro Cerámica Triana was opened in 2014 in the old factory. Visiting Centro Cerámica Triana was our main reason to visit Triana and it was free admission with our Alcázar ticket (although it’s only 2€ to visit normally).

The museum has two floors: the ground floor dedicated to the equipment used in the production of the ceramics and the second floor showcasing the process of creating the painted ceramic tiles. We saw the original kilns used in the factory (remains of other kilns have also been found, the oldest being from the 16th century), the pigments mills where the pigments for dyes were ground and mixed, and a potter’s wheel among other things. What really stands out on the ground floor is the courtyard which has a striking array of ceramic sleeves of different sizes arrayed in a steel lattice. This was made to mimic the Moorish inspired celosía, which is a decorative façade on a building that provides shade while at the same time letting light through.

Upstairs we looked at the exhibits and watched a video featuring the artisans that painted the tiles. There was a nice display of tiles, which were used for everything from decoration to advertisements. One of my favorites was a large piece with detailed flowers and birds - beautiful work! After finishing our visit at the museum we saw a lot more tiles and pottery of all shapes and sizes when we visited the stores in the neighborhood (limited space in our carry ons kept us from buying too much!). We walked around Triana a little more, had a snack at a bakery, and headed back across the river. We had enough time to pay another visit to Plaza de España, this time in the daytime so we could see all the beautiful tile work. On our walk there along the river we passed by Torre del Oro (Gold Tower), which was named for the golden reflection of the sun off the Guadalquivir River. The tower was built by the Moors in the 13th century. One of its uses was as an anchor for a heavy chain that was stretched across the river to protect the harbor. In 1248 King Ferdinand III’s ships rammed the chain, broke through, and they took the city from the Moors. Later this tower was an important fixture as the starting and ending point for shipping to the New World.

It took us about thirty minutes to walk to Plaza de España from Triana and it definitely had a different vibe in the daytime (a lot of people and activity). Plaza de España is located in Parque de María Luisa and was built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. The Plaza de España complex is a huge half-circle employing a mix of elements from Baroque Revival, Renaissance Revival, and Neo-Mudéjar styles. The principal building was built to showcase Spain’s industry and technology exhibits and today the buildings have been renovated to be used as offices for government agencies (and Plaza de España has been used as a filming location). There is also a moat that mimics the curve of the pavilion buildings and has four bridges, which represent the ancient kingdoms of Spain (Navarre, León, Castile, Aragon).

For us the main attraction was the former Spanish Pavilion. Forty eight tiled alcoves were built around the plaza to represent each province of Spain, arranged in alphabetical order. Each alcove has benches, small bookcases, a historic scene, a map, and the provincial shield and all of them are beautifully detailed and colorful. After learning about the history of ceramic tile production in Triana, it was cool to see the tiles “in the wild”. And it wasn’t just the provincial alcoves - there were tiles and ceramics everywhere - the lampposts, railings, stairs, walls. It was cool seeing all the different designs and patterns. We also enjoyed walking upstairs to the balconies and watching a flamenco dance (this was a nice teaser before seeing a full flamenco show the next night). I’m glad we had time this day to visit Plaza de España - it would have been a shame to miss it!

We weren’t sure how our day would play out or where we would be for dinner, so we hadn’t made a reservation and unfortunately, we were looking to eat at a busy time. We ended up finding a spot in Barrio Santa Cruz that didn’t have a long wait and it was another unremarkable meal. I guess you can’t win them all! We turned in early so we could get a good night's sleep before catching our train to Cordoba in the morning. It was another great day in Spain!