Catedral de Sevilla...

Our goal is to discover as many of Seville's treasures as possible while here. Its Cathedral was today's destination. This showpiece church is awe-inspiring in its scale and majesty. The world’s largest Gothic cathedral was built between 1434 and 1517 over the remains of what had previously been the city’s main mosque. Highlights include: the Giralda (the mighty bell tower), which incorporates the mosque’s original minaret; the monumental tomb of Christopher Columbus; and the Capilla Mayor with an astonishing gold altarpiece.

The history of the cathedral goes back to the 15th century but the history of Christian worship on the site dates to the mid-13th century. In 1248, the Castilian king Fernando III captured Seville from its Almohad (Moorish) rulers and transformed their great 12th-century mosque into a church. Some 153 years later, in 1401, the city’s ecclesiastical authorities decided to replace the former mosque, which had been damaged by an earthquake in 1356, with a spectacular new cathedral: 'Let's construct a church so large future generations will think we were mad', they proclaimed (or so legend has it).

The result is the staggering cathedral we have admired for days, officially known as the Catedral de Santa María de la Sede. It’s one of the world’s largest churches and a veritable treasure trove of art, with notable works by Zurbarán, Murillo, Goya, and others.

As we awaited our 1:50 PM ticketed entrance (in 90° sunshine), we circumnavigated the massive structure, discovering its unique adornments. The pillars and chains were placed to provide sanctuary to those escaping secular law (but not Christian law) 500 years ago.

With its immense flying buttresses and Gothic embellishments, the cathedral's exterior provides a suitably dramatic shell for the treasures within.

Surprising to us were these stains on the outer walls. Called Víctores, this art (?) evolved into graffiti. But why does graffiti exist on the Cathedral? Adopted by some Spanish universities: Salamanca, Alcalá de Henares, and Seville, the purpose of this graffiti was to commemorate the students who obtained the title of Doctor. These paintings were done in red (animal blood), some time in the 18th century. Interestingly, many found contain anagrams made by combining the letters that form the word Victor. This word translates in English as “Hurrah!” I'm not a fan of graffiti but I did find this very interesting.

With 138 stained glass windows, the Cathedral is a kind of museum where you can see the historical evolution of this technique from the 15th century to the 20th century. The stained glass windows respond to the spaces that are formed from its peculiar architecture of the temple, giving rise to 10 types of stained glass windows and 3 different rosettes.

My ultimate goal here was to admire the tomb of Christopher Columbus (the Sepulcro de Cristóbal Colón). The monument supposedly contains the remains of the great explorer, but debate continues as to whether the bones are actually his.

"Columbus’ remains were moved many times after his death (in 1506 in northern Spain), and there are those who claim his real bones lie in Santo Domingo. Certainly his bones spent time in the Dominican Republic after they were shipped to Spanish-controlled Hispaniola from their original resting place, the Monasterio de la Cartuja, in 1537. However, they were later sent to Havana and returned to Seville in 1898." Such intrigue!

Seville is a land of great artists, who were inspired by this land to elaborate their divine representation. The Cathedral of Seville has one of the main religious art collections in Europe and is considered one of the largest and best art galleries in Spain. I was excited to see Saints Justa and Rufina (1817). The Holy Martyrs of the City also have their place in various rooms, however, of all their representations, the one made by the Zaragozan painter Francisco de Goya is especially noteworthy due to its size and the symbolism used to express their martyrdom.

Archbishop José Ángel Saiz Meneses said, "The synthesis of faith, liturgy and art helps us meet the Invisible God through the visible." It helps to explain the massiveness of this place.

The decorative brick tower, which tops out at 341 feet, was the minaret of the mosque, constructed between 1184 and 1198 at the height of Almohad power. Its proportions, delicate brick-pattern decoration, and color, which changes with the light, make it perhaps Spain’s most perfect Islamic building. The topmost parts – from bell level up – were added in the 16th century, when Spanish Christians were busy ‘improving on’ surviving Islamic buildings. At the very top is El Giraldillo, a 16th-century bronze weather vane representing ‘faith', that has become a symbol of Seville.