Today is our last day in Spain. After another lazy morning, we spent the afternoon exploring the El Arenal neighborhood which lies between the cathedral and the river. The streets are a little wider, with similar opportunities for architectural delights if you happen to look up.
We had a rather lame late vegetarian lunch at the Mercado del Arenal. The covered produce and fish market was winding down for the day so a lot of the venders had already closed.
There was a funky little flower power laundromat plunked right in the middle of the market. A bit incongruous, but whimsical.
Seville has a long tradition of bullfighting and one of the oldest bullrings in Spain, dating from 1761. Winter is the off-season for bullfighting and I didn’t want to see a corrida de toros anyway (I attended a bullfight in Madrid on as a teenager on a group tour, and though I tried to be open-minded and had even read Hemingway’s “Death in the Afternoon” in preparation, once was more than enough. I’m sure I don’t have the stomach for it now.
La Maestranza, Seville’s Plaza de Toros
Instead we signed up for a tour of the bullfighting museum and the bullring. Our escorted group of about 25 were handed language-specific audioguides and told what buttons to press as we entered each area.
The “museum” was a few scant rooms of stuffed bulls, paintings, posters and attire of famous bullfighters, a model of the arena and some historical info touching on the evolution of bullfighting from the former skills training for military horsemen.
The door through which the matador enters the ring. Just before entering, he stops to pray in a dedicated chapel.
The bullring can hold up to 12,000 spectators, and usually sells out for major corridas. Prices vary from sun to shade, and low rows to high. The most expensive seats are near the royal Prince box, below which is the Prince Gate. Only an extremely rare, deft performance will warrant an invitation for the matador to exit via this gate.
Prince gate
The King bravely posed on the burladero (behind which the bullfighters can dodge to get away from the bull) with the Prince gate behind.
We ambled down the pleasant riverside promenade to the geocache at the Torre del Oro (tower of gold).
The 12-sided tower was built by the Moors in the early 13th century. It served as one of two anchor points for a heavy chain which could be strung across the river, limiting access to Seville’s busy harbor. The sister tower on the other side of the river has disappeared, possibly in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.
The security was warranted. By 1500, having financed Columbus’s three voyage to the West Indies, Seville was the exclusive port and gate to the New World, and flourished as the commerce capital of Europe.
The 100 foot tall building also served as a watchtower and prison in the Middle Ages. It was named for the golden reflection it cast in the Guadalquivir River. It was originally finished with a mixture of mortar, lime and hay, which has eroded away over the last 800 years.
The Hospital de la Caridad, or the Hospice and Hospital of the Holy Charity, was founded in 1674 by Don Miguel Mañara and continues as a working charity today. The founder was from a wealthy family and inherited both a fortune and the role of mayor of Seville. At the age of 48, his young wife died and he experienced a change of focus, dedicating himself to strict worship and care of the poor. Already a member of a brotherhood that provided burials for the executed and those who’d drowned in the river, he persuaded his companions to help with his newly established mission. He built a 150 ward hospital and small Baroque church and spent the rest of his life in penitence, prayer, and service to the poor.
His friends included the painters Leal and Murillo, whose large rich works decorate the nave of the church. A couple of lamp angels (my current favorite Baroque figures) illuminate the sides of the golden altar backing.
We made a final stop at Mas to pick up some bread and cheese for a picnic dinner at the Airbnb. Then Greg spotted the place we’d been hoping to see our entire stay in Seville. And just in time, since we fly home tomorrow.
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