So I was traveling to Spain for the first time with my grandmother (despite the fact I am Spanish thanks to my mother but never went to Spain before). It was a huge deal for me, and also because I had a huge part of my family that I had never seen in person.
So my grandma was sort of the tour guide for me. I was a tourist in a country I was a citizen of, so it felt really weird to say the least; having a camera bag hanging from my neck I was surely an exchange student or something in the mind of every Spaniard nearby.
One day she decides to take me to a park nearby her house, which is Maria Luisa Park on Seville. I was just walking with her, just thinking that the place was boring, endless and nothing more.
And then I saw this almost hidden inside of the park.
I lost it. I absolutely lost it.
Why was the most beautiful and spectacular place I've ever seen in my life inside of some random park? I then understood why my grandma took me to that park, and why she was quiet the whole way. It was magical. The colors and the visual stimulus I was having was too much to handle, it was a sensory overload in every way. The sound of the fountains, the smell of the water, just knowing there is almost a century of history behind what I was seeing. Little kids just running around the fountains, people having fun riding the boats... It was truly, a special moment.
Spain Square (Plaza de España)
Spain Square was designed by Aníbal González in 1928. It was built for the Ibero-American Expo happening the year after. The purpose of the exposition was to improve relations between Spain and the countries in attendance. This Exposition took the city of Seville 19 years in the making, and completely changed the overall image of the city even to this day with its huge amount of new construction made.
It was the most expensive and hard construction of the fair, employing at some point more than 1,000 workers. The project went through many financial difficulties, especially because Seville was in very bad economic shape. In 1926 Aníbal González resigned from his position and the project was finished in 1928 by Vicente Taverner, who added the central fountain.
The main landmark is its massive semi-circular brick building, Renaissance/neo-Moorish in style, with a tower at either end (tall enough to be visible around the city). The square has a fountain in the middle, rounded for a small lake and a building behind it that gives a traditional style to all the place. In front of the building, following its curve, is a 500-metre canal crossed by four bridges, and in the center of it all is the Plaza itself. You can rent small boats to row in the canal.
Today the building houses various government offices.
Nowadays, the Spain Square in Seville remains a magical place with a style that recreates the Arab constructions of 10 centuries ago and that emphasizes the regions of Spain and its union with America. In the main Plaza you can find four bridges, each one representing the four ancient kingdoms of Spain (Castile, León, Aragón and Navarra). There is a series of 48 tiled alcoves or benches, each representing a Spanish province (pictured below).
Such an amazing place, such an amazing experience. I left the plaza with a huge smile, thanking life for giving me the opportunity of visiting it. If you are in Seville and in the lookout for places to go, going to the Spain Square is not optional, you NEED to go! 😉
All photos taken by me with a Canon Powershot A2400 IS