Plaza de España (Seville)
The Plaza de España is one of the most famous places in Sevilla , Spain . When Seville hosted the Ibero-American Exhibition in 1929 , many buildings were erected for the exhibition in Maria Luisa Park, including the Plaza de España by Aníbal González (who was also the lead architect of the overall event). The term “building” is used here because the square was first formed by a semicircular building that seamlessly surrounds the square. The semicircle has a diameter of 200 meters and is supposed to symbolize an embrace of the South American colonies by Spain. In addition, the opening of the semicircle points towards the river, as a parabola for the path one must follow to get to America.
More than a thousand workers worked at the same time to build it. Construction began in 1924 and was completed by the architect Vicente Traver in 1928 after Aníbal González resigned as chief architect of the exhibition.
Partial view
Details of the ornamentation
The North Tower (Torre Norte)
Aerial view of the Plaza de España
Detail view
Spanish Square in Seville
Aerial photograph from 1932
The surface of the square is 50,000 m², of which 19,000 m² are built on and the remaining 31,000 m² represent open space. All around is a canal with a length of 515 meters. This is crossed by 4 bridges, which are supposed to represent the four ancient kingdoms of Spain ( Castile , León , Aragón and Navarre ).
The building is covered with clinker bricks, marble and ceramics, which give it an appearance in a playful mixture of Renaissance and Baroque . On the walls there are a number of tile ornaments ( azulejos ), which are supposed to remind of the 48 Spanish provinces and are arranged in alphabetical order. They represent maps of the provinces, mosaics with historical events and the coats of arms of the capitals of each province. The square was thus the most expensive exhibition element of the event.
The Plaza de España was often used as a setting for filming, for example in Lawrence of Arabia as the Cairo Great Britain Army Headquarters, in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clone Warriors as a setting on the planet Naboo , whereby the scenes were later digitally edited and changed and in The Dictator as the setting for the fictional desert state of Wadyia . In 2017, the plaza was therefore included in the list of treasures of European film culture .
Others
- In Dan Brown's novel Diabolus , the first scene takes place in the Plaza de España.
- The buildings of the plaza also house the Seville Military Museum. a. with one of the few preserved transport chests from the colonial era of the 16th century.
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 37 ° 22 ′ 38 ″ N , 5 ° 59 ′ 13 ″ W.