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by Josephine Quintero
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| Santa Isabel Church
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Seville's parish churches display a fascinating
variety of architectural styles. Several are converted mosques with
belfries built over their minarets, others range through Mudejar
and Gothic (sometimes in combination), Renaissance and Baroque.
Most are kept locked except early in the morning, or in the evenings
from about 7 pm until 10 pm - a promising time for a church crawl,
especially as they're regularly interspersed with bars!
For good circuit make first towards Gothic San Pedro,
where a marble tablet records Velazquez's baptism and San Marcos,
with a fine minaret tower. Nearby, in this old cobbled part of town,
is the fifteenth-century Convento de Santa Paula (Tues-Sunday) 10.30
am - 12.30 pm and 4.30 - 6.30 pm), its church decorated with a vivid
ceramic facade and superb tile work, with an excellent museum containing
fine artwork by Zurbaran and Riber among others. Further on you
meet the last remaining stretch of Moorish city walls - remains
of the Almoravid fortifications which once spanned 12 gates and
166 towers. Now there's only one gate, the Puerta Macarena, beside
it a Basilica houses the city's cult image and patroness of matadors,
La Esperanza Macarena, a tearful Virgin seated in the midst of gaudy
magnificence.
IGLESIA DE SAN MARCOS
This 14th century church retains several Mudejar
features, notably its Giralda-like tower (based on the minaret of
an earlier mosque) and the decoration on the Gothic portal on Plaza
de San Marcos. The restoration of the interior, gutted by fire in
1936, has highlighted unique horseshoe arches in the nave. A statue
of St Mark with book and quill pen, attributed to Juan de Mesa,
is in the far left corner. In the plaza at the back of the church
is the Convento de Santa Isabel, founded in 1490. It became a women's
prison in the 19th century. The church dates from 1609. Its baroque
portal, facing onto Plaza de Santa Isabel, has a bas-relief of the
Visitation sculpted by Andres de Ocampo.
IGLESIA DE SANTA CATALINA
Built on the former sight of a mosque, this 14th
century church has a Mudejar tower modelled on La Giralda. Within
the entrance is a surprisingly placed horseshoe arch. At the far
end of the nave, the Capilla Sacramental is by Leonardo de Fugueroa
while, on the right, the Capilla de la Exaltacion has a decorative
ceiling which dates from around 1400.
IGLESIA DE SAN PEDRO
14th century Gothic Mudejar with later additions.
There are three naves, the one on the right has a beautiful four
sided chapel with a Mudejar ceiling dating from 1379. Dating from
the 17th century, there are several paintings by the Sevillian painter,
Zurbaran.
CONVENTO DE SANTA PAULA
Seville has many enclosed religious complexes, but
few are accessible. This is one of them, a convent set up in 1475
and still home to 40 nuns. The public is welcome to enter through
two different doors in the Calle Santa Paula. Knock on the brown
one, marked number 11 to look at the convent museum. Steps lead
to two galleries, crammed with religious paintings and artifacts.
The windows of the second look onto the nuns' cloister. The nuns
make a phenominal range of marmalades and jams which visitors may
purchase in a room near the exit.
Ring the bell by the brick doorway nearby to visit
the convent church, reached by crossing a meditative garden. Its
portal vividly combines Gothic arches, Mudejar brickwork, Renaissance
medallion and ceramics by the Italian artist, Niculoso Pisano. Inside
the nave has an elaborate wooden roof and there are some fine statues
here of St John the Evangelist and St John the Baptist.
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