Seville's popular Plaza Espana looks as if it has been there for hundreds of years, but it's actually a left-over from a 1929 World's Fair, the Ibero-American Exposition designed to highlight Spanish influence in the world.
Today, the Plaza and the adjoining Maria Luisa Park are popular sites for strolling, sunning, rowing a boat in the moat, and just plain hanging out.
Unlike the pavilions built for many World's Fairs, Seville had a master plan for the area; starting in 1910, they began drawing up plans to build up the southern part of the city along the Guadalqivir river, and to modernize the street grid.
Countries invited to take part in the fair were urged to make their pavilions useful afterwards as consulates; some have become museums. Also unlike many fairs, the buildings were all completed, if no longer new, by the opening in 1929.
Alves Gaspar/Wikimedia (above); aerial view from 1932 (below))
The main building's impression of great antiquity is no accident; it was meant to emphasize the long heritage of Spanish culture—but it does so by a mixture of styles that is almost baffling up close. Baroque Revival, Renaissance Revival and elements of the local Moorish Revival, based on the Mudejar period, when Moorish styles persisted after Christian conquest, all make appearances, and there may be more.
The ceramic railings lining the moat are perhaps my favorite feature here. They also appear on the four highly-decorated bridges, representing the four ancient kingdoms of Spain, that cross the moat.
The moat, I'm told, was originally meant for ceremonial barges and replicas of ancient ship, but today it's a pleasant place for a lazy row around in the sun. Or, perhaps for strewing flowers, if that's what happened here.
As with any romantic location, it's also become a place for wedding and engagement photos. This is one of four couple I spotted in a half hour!
A series of tiled alcoves across the front of the building represents each of the provinces of Spain; they're popular with visitors who take selfies in front of 'their own' alcove. The covered bookcases flanking each were meant to contain books, maps and other information about the province; these days some of them are also in use as "Little Free Libraries."
Middle image: Jorge Luis Rodriguez/Wikimedia
The impressive interior spaces and staircases originally led to exhibition space where documents, maps, and other objects related to the discovery of the Americas, including a set of 120 letters and manuscript that had belonged to Christopher Columbus, the last testament of Hernán Cortés, and detailed dioramas of historic moments. A replica of the Santa Maria was nearby on the riverfront. Today the building is occupied by government offices.
Over the years, parts of the structure weren't fully maintained, and changes were made in use and appearance, but in 2007, the city spent €9 million to restore it to its original appearance. Which, of course, didn't include the vendors selling fans, caps and other souvenirs under the porticos.
If, by now, some bits and pieces look familiar even though you haven't visited, it may not be an illusion. Among the films that have used it as scenery are Lawrence of Arabia, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, where it stood in for part of the City of Theed on the Planet Naboo. It was also in the 2012 film The Dictator, and will appear again next year in a Netflix series, Kaos.
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