Seville Cathedral
Mystery of Christopher Columbus:
Seville Cathedral was the third largest church in Europe until a few years ago, before the construction of the Church of Christ the Redeemer in Moscow. However, when it was built in 1507, Cathedral of Santa Maria de la Sede was the greatest. Furthermore, it is still the biggest Gothic church. From 1987 it is under the protection of UNESCO.
Grandiose Gothic construction hides a lot, and the most famous is the tomb of Christopher Columbus. It is a monumental tombstone inside the church, with four giant bronze figures. In addition, some guides point out that these figures hide a secret under the marble floor. They claim that it is probably his son, Fernando. However, other stories say that Christopher was transferred from Cuba in 1898 after the declaration of independence of the Caribbean islands.
However, the cathedral in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic “advertises itself” as the place of Columbus’s grave. You are free to decide where his tomb is and there should soon be results of the DNA test that would show whose tomb that is. On the other hand, it is magnificent to see how people from Spain respect their national hero, one Italian . However, it is certain that here lie some crowned people: Alfonso X, Fernando and Pedro III Cruel.
Interior of the Cathedral:
Seville Cathedral has an impressive interior, it seems as if gold is placed everywhere. In the center of the cathedral is placed “coro” from the fifteenth century. Behind the “coro” there is the biggest altarpiece. This magnificent altarpiece is made in wood and decorated with gold by Fleming Pieter Dancart. He also made forty five scenes from Jesus’ life.
Furthermore, Murillo, Goya, and Zurbarán made some great art pieces here.
La Giralda:
Its pink square tower Giralda is very well known. However, first it was a strict and undecorated minaret of the mosque. Since Spaniards had the habit of worshiping and transforming others into their own culture, this minaret continued to live as a bell tower.They added several meters in floral Renaissance style to it. Surprisingly, this harmonious stylistic confusion with weather vane on the top in the form of an angel named Vera looks nice. Moreover, this tower got its name after this weather vane, since “girarse” means- rotate.
Customs:
For centuries, Holy Sunday is the biggest holiday in Seville. During that week Cofradiosi (members of the brotherhood) carry on their shoulders religious figures from their churches to the Cathedral and back. They go through the narrow streets of the city by the shortest possible route. Figures represent the various phases of crucifixion of Jesus Christ.