“Who hasn’t seen Sevilla, has seen no wondrous thing” Andalusian saying. Sevilla is the setting for Bizet’s Carmen as well as Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro. It is a seductive, sun-drenched city of orange blossoms, the twirl of the flamenco dancer, the strumming of the solo guitar and the delicious smells of Spanish cooking. It is a city where orange trees adorn every street and square. On every patio and every terrace birds sing and geraniums bloom.
Sevilla is at its best during the spring. And the climax of spring is Semana Santa (Holy Week). Dozens of lavish processions thread their way through the city each day, celebrating religious piety with Andalusian flair. Thousands upon thousands of people line the streets to participate in the colorful festivities. At one time, Seville was Spain’s largest city. It was the gateway through which the vast wealth of the New World poured. It served as the host of two World Exhibitions.
Seville certainly is one of the most beloved places by visitors to Spain. Although today Moorish influence is architectonically most evident - Andalusia was occupied by Moors for about 800 years - it has been a cultural center long before. The fertility of this land and its favorised climate with mild winters and about 3000 hours of sun per year (if you ever have visited it in August, where temperatures can arrive to some 47°C, perhaps you will deny to call it favorised) made Phoenicians and Carthaginians settle here. Later came Romans, like almost to any place in Europe, and two of their emperors, Trajan and Hadrian, in fact were born here. |
