Once a Roman colony and once a Moorish capital, Seville is one of the great cities of Southern Europe. For garden visitors the great attraction is the gardens of the Alcazar. They are on the edge of the old city and there are fine garden hotels within walking distance of the Alcazar and the River Guadalquivir. The summers are rather hot but spring is made sweet by orange blossom: Jardines de las Reales Alcazares, Parque de Maria Luisa.
Jardines de las Reales Alcazares
Jardines de las Reales Alcazares »
<p>The palace of the Kings of Seville has the largest late-medieval garden in Europe. Seville was ruled by the Moors from 711 to 1248. After the Christian reconquest, their influence, and their craftsmen, created what became known as the Mudejar style (from an Arabic word meaning 'allowed to remain'). Peter I ruled from 1350-69. His Alcazar (fortress) garden was built upon Moorish remains and has typically eastern courtyards bounded by arcades and sequestered behind high walls. The oldest spaces are in and around the palace. We find small courtyards with glittering pools, fountains, and recessed seats. As in ancient Egypt, they give protection from the harshness of the outside world. Decorati.....
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Parque de Maria Luisa
Parque de Maria Luisa »
The park was designed for the Ibero-American Exposition which opened in 1929, though it had been planned for 1914. It was designed by Forestier, a french landscape architect. Many of the pavilions survive. The Plaza de Espania fronts onto a semicircular canal and a plaza. The combination of buildings in revivalist styles, with formal and informal geometry convey something of the flavour of the World Columbian Exposition of 1893 (the Chicago World Fair), designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.
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