Seville with Giralda

Seville commented by Braun

Not far from Seville lies San Juan de Aznalfarache with the ancient ruined walls of an incredibly large palace. The site lies on a hill on the River Bétis, called the Guadalquivir from the Arabic, meaning big river. Even today, simple brick-vaulted tombs are uncovered in great numbers by the daily ploughing of the fields in front of Seville. The Moors, when they still ruled Hispania, built other such towers out of brick with such artistry that anyone who sees them must be astonished.”

Taschen on Greater Seville

The plate illustrates three sites in the immediate vicinity of Seville, framed on either side by views of the Giralda, the famous bell tower of Seville cathedral. Still the city’s most familiar landmark, the Giralda is shown on the left in a façade view, while on the right a cut-away view reveals the tower’s internal staircase, a ramp that could be ridden up on horseback. The Giralda was originally the minaret of the Mezquita Major, commenced in 1172. After the Reconquista, however, the Moorish mosque was replaced by the cathedral of Santa Maria de la Juan de Aznalfarache, southwest of Seville. During the Muslim Al-Andalus period (from the 8th cent. onwards) it was called Hisn-al-Faray, which means “castle with a view” and is the origin of today’s Aznalfarache. The castle in question was built in 1196/97. In 1248, after being reconquered from the Moors, the site passed to the Order of St John (San Juan) of Jerusalem, hence the first part of the town’s name. The middle view shows the hilltop village of Gerena, northwest of Seville. The town goes back to a Roman settlement and many Roman remains are still to be found there. These include sections of an aqueduct, which carried water to the Roman city of Italica. The aquaduct and the ruins of Italica are probably the subject of the lower view. Italica was founded in 206 BC by Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus and was used as a quarry after the arrival of the Moors in 711. As a vanitas motif above the tombs, Hoefnagel has included an antique motto taken from the Appendix Vergiliana and widespread within humanism: Vivitur ingenio caetera mortis erunt – “