Remarkable Roman Mosacis in Italica.
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The Roman
ruins and remarkable mosaics of Italica are located less than
9 kilometres to the north of the city.
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The Torre
del Oro (Golden Tower), is a remnant of the Moorish fortified
walls.
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A recently
restored octagonal tower which was joined by the city walls.
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Next to
Santa Cruz, this is the most atmospheric area of Seville.
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These
walls date from 1135, the time of the Almoravides.
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The Expo
took place on the land surrounding the ruined Cartuja monastery
in April 1992.
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Josephine Quintero reports
Seville has a rich and fascinating history. The
Romans governed the whole of Spain for more than six centuries.
Their first colony was Italica which may
still be visited today.
The Romans changed the face of the countryside and
towns, building aqueducts and long straight roads to link the major
towns. Today some of the best preserved artifacts from this period
can be found at the city's magnificent Archaelogical
Museum.
But it was the Moslem civilization which was to
have the most lasting impact on the city. Their reign lasted for
nearly 800 years in Andalucia from 711 until 1492 when the Catholic
monarchs defeated the Moslem kingdom of Granada.
Some of the city's most magnificent buildings stand
as a legacy to this era, including the Torre
del Oro, Torre de Plata, Giralda,
Patio de los Naranjos, the area of Triana,
the Macarena Walls and the Alcazar.
Later the the mudejares used their skill to create beautiful Moorish-style
buildings, such as the Palacio Pedro 1, part of Seville's Reales
Alcazres. There are several Mudejar churches
dating from this period, including the Iglesia de San Marcos, the
Iglesia de Santa Catalina and the Church of San Pedro.
Interestingly, Mudejar architecture continued long
after the Moslem period, one of the best examples being the Casa
de Pilatos, one of the most beautiful buildings you can visit
in Seville. The city walls and gates offer
an insight into the history over the ages.
After the fall of Granada to the Christians, Spain
entered an era of expansion and prosperity. The conquest of the
New World made Seville one of the most affluent cities in Europe,
but much of this wealth was squandered on wars by the Hapsburg kings.
The 13 year War of the Spanish Succession saw Bourbons on the throne
in place of the Hapsburgs and, under the Treaty of Utrecht, the
loss of Gibraltar to the British. Later ties with France dragged
Spain into the Napoleonic Wars.
Following the Battle of Trafalgar, the Spanish King,
Carlos 1V abdicated and Napoleon Bonaparte placed his brother, Joseph
on the Spanish throne. The Peninsula War ensued and, with British
help, the French were driven out of Spain. After the Bourbon restoration,
Spain weakened by further strife, began to lose her colonies.
By the 18th century, Spain had fallen into economic
decline and in the 19th and early 20th centuries poverty led to
political conflict and ultimately to civil war.
Many of the more recent historic buildings date
from the 1929 Ibero-American Exposion of 1929, including the Plaza
de España and the Parque
Maria Luisa.
In 1992 this event was repeated when Expo
took place again in Seville, attracting thousands of visitors from
around the world.
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