They say that Seville has a special color, a famous saying that is confirmed when we enter the vast avenues, orange blossom gardens and a bank of the Guadalquivir that haunts the largest city in Andalusia. A dream destination that I find in the Santa Cruz neighborhood in Seville the perfect reflection of a city as fascinating as it is timeless.
History of the Santa Cruz neighborhood in Seville
Next to the Guadalquivir river, in the southern section of the old town of Seville, there is a neighborhood famous for concentrating much of the history of the Andalusian city, especially for its status as Jewry for many years.
Already in the time of Hispalis, a name that Seville received from the Romans, the current neighborhood of Santa Cruz is located inside the fortress that delimited to the east with the Puerta de la Carne and to the south with the Plaza del Triunfo, being the current Abades and Don Remondo streets the old canvas of the well-known carduses, or great Roman road.
An area converted into a great playground for Muslims who for almost ten centuries lived in Andalusia and more specifically in Seville. In fact, the ancient palaces of al-Zahir, al-Zahi or especially the lavish al-Mubarak, erected in the XNUMXth century not far from the Guadalquivir, they were the greatest pride of King Al-Mutamid, although many of these buildings would be reused by Christians centuries later to serve as a base for its palaces and the Alcazar of Seville itself.
In 1248 King Ferdinand III of Castile arrived in the city to defeat the Muslims, beginning a new stage in the city marked by the coexistence of Christians and Muslims but, especially, by the arrival of the jewish population, which chose the Santa Cruz neighborhood in Seville to display its businesses, meeting places and synagogues. In fact, The Jewish nucleus of Seville became at the time the second largest in the entire peninsula, just behind the Jewish quarter of Toledo in the middle of the XNUMXth century. A population whose quality of life increased given the good relations between the Kings of Castile and the main Jewish leaders. An alliance that, however, would be held back when In 1483 the Inquisition decided to expel a large part of the Jewish populations from AndalusiaAlthough some citizens along with other Muslims continued to inhabit both the Santa Cruz and San Bartolomé neighborhoods.
After years condemned to oblivion, disease and poverty, finally at the beginning of the XNUMXth century the main leaders of Seville considered the reform of the neighborhood on the occasion of the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. In this way, part of the gardens of the Reales Alcázares, an outline of the current Murillo Gardens, or the opening of streets such as Nicolás Antonio and Antonio el BailarÃn, which connect Santa Cruz with the exuberant Paseo de Catalina de Ribera, allowed to oxygenate a place in Seville that has become the perfect mirror of a city full of nuances and history.
How to get to the Barrio de Santa Cruz in Seville
The Santa Cruz neighborhood borders to the north with Blanca de los RÃos, Francisco Bruna, Francos, Pajaritos, Bamberg, Aire, Cruces, Fabiola and Mariscal streets. With respect to its eastern limits, it borders Menéndez Pelayo Avenue, to the southeast with MarÃa Luisa Avenue, which surrounds the famous Plaza de España, to the southwest with the Paseo de las Delicias that borders the Guadalquivir river and to the west with the Plaza de San Francisco and Avenida de la Constitución.
The urban fabric of Santa Cruz forms an almond located on the eastern bank of the Guadalquivir where some of the great attractions of the city are included such as the Alcazar, the Cathedral or the Archivo de Indias, so it can be visited from any of these points of interest as an extension of them or from any of the streets and avenues indicated in the previous paragraph.
What to see in the Barrio de Santa Cruz in Seville
The Santa Cruz neighborhood is one of the most delicious corners of Seville and in which despite its monuments and tourist attractions, the pleasure lies in inspiring the aroma of the orange blossom that surrounds its balconies, strolling among its pastel-colored alleys or sitting in its squares and parks from which to obtain unbeatable views.
If you are about to start a route through this fairytale place, these are some of the places you can visit:
Triumph Square
Baptized with this name due to a Lisbon earthquake of 1755 that did not reach Seville, the Plaza del Triunfo is one of the great icons of Seville, as it houses some of its most famous monuments such as La Giralda, the Reales Alcázares or the Archivo de Indias. The view of the buildings, the vegetation and the presence of the famous statue erected in honor of the Immaculate Conception stand out. The perfect threshold to a magical Santa Cruz neighborhood.
Water Street
Photography: Mapio
If you continue walking east from the Plaza del Triunfo you can walk through one of the most significant streets of the Santa Cruz neighborhood. And it is that the Calle del Agua is a delicious passageway that borders the wall of the Alcázares (formerly known as "round") and in which icons such as the old home of the writer Washington Irving (You can discover it through the commemorative plaque that appears on the outside).
Murillo Gardens
In a year in which Seville has performed tribute to Bartolomé Esteban Murillo on the occasion of its fourth centenary, peeking into these gardens becomes a delight for the senses. A stage of up to 8.500 square meters where different species of plants and fountains stand out.
Alfaro Square
Photography: Adriano Hotel
Located next to the gardens, in the Plaza de Alfaro, the one considered as «compass rose of Seville«, You will be able to find a strange rarity: the one known as Devil's Gate, name by which one of the windows of the mansion that closes the square is known and whose bars, instead of being joined or screwed together, are intertwined following the curious technique of punching. In this same square of romantic airs it is believed that Murillo lived his last days.
Santa Cruz Square
After leaving the Jardines de Murillo and the annexed Plaza de Alfaro, this iconic square is located where you can discover the remains of the famous Church of Santa Cruz, which dates from the end of the fourteenth century and in whose foundations the remains of Murillo were buried. A relaxing place wrapped in the color and orange trees that characterize this corner of Seville so much.
Would you like to visit the Santa Cruz neighborhood in Seville?