Maria Luisa Park
For all its old fashioned grace, Seville has been one of the most forward-looking and progressive cities of Spain during this century. In the 1920's, while they were redirecting the Gudalquivir and building the new port and factories that are the foundation of the city's growth today, the Sevillenos decided to put on an exposition. In a tremendous burst of energy, they turned the entire southern end of the city into an expanse of gardens and grand boulevards. The centre of it is Parque de Maria Luisa, a paradisical half mile of palms and orange trees, elms and Mediterranean pines, covered with flower beds and dotted with hidden bowers, ponds and pavilions. Now that the trees and shrubs have reached maturity, the genius of the landscapers can be appreciated - this is one of the loveliest parks in Europe.
The park is designed like the Plaza de España in a mix of 1920's Art Deco and mock Mudejar by the architect, Anibal Gonzalez. Scattered about and round the edge are more buildings from the 1929 fair, some of them surprisingly opulent, built in the last months before the Wall Street crash undercut the scheme's impetus - a good example is the stylish Guatemala building, off the Paseo de la Palmera.
Towards the end of the park, the grandest mansions from the fair have been adapted as museums. The farthest contains the city's archaeology collections. The main exhibits are Roman mosaics and artefacts from nearby Italica, along with a unique Phoenician statuette of Astarte-Tanit, the virgin goddess once worshipped throughout the Mediterranean.
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Nearby is the Royal Tobacco Factory, forever associated with the fictional gypsy heroine, Carmen, who toiled in its sultry halls. Today it is part of the university.
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Min: 19C