Large Garden - Palace of the Duke of Alcala
Walking through the walled large garden of the Casa de Pilatos in Seville is a truly enchanting experience.
The garden's surroundings echo the architectural grandeur of the Casa de Pilatos itself, marrying the natural and built environments in harmonious splendor.
This area was originally an orchard and vegetable garden. Per Afán Enríquez de Ribera had amassed such a collection of classical statues that instead of modifying the existing palace to display them, in 1568, he commissioned Neapolitan architect Benvenutto Tortello to build a new palace around the old orchard, transforming it into an archaeological garden.
Tortello followed the model of a late-Roman-style palace with balconies looking out over the landscape. Cleverly he inverted them and opened the balconies towards the closed garden. He included niches and vaulted niches to house the archaeological pieces.
A small grotto in one of its corners completes the "Italianization" of this space. The Large Garden, was renovated in the 19th century. The large gardenis a testament to the timeless allure of Seville, a place where history, nature, and artistry unite to create an experience that is, just beautiful
