Looking at the Cathedral from plaza naranjas.

Seville is host to the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. The Santa Maria de la Sede is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It’s construction lasted over a century and thousands of visitors a year are the beneficiaries of it, awed as I was, on the day we toured.

It is difficult to explain the sheer magnitude of a building like this. The stone columns are towers in their own right. I am walking through the definition of cavernous, trying to imagine these hallowed halls in 1528. Were they as quiet and tomb like as they are now or were they full of people, peasants and clergy bustling about? It is surreal to think of the creation of buildings like this long before cranes and heavy equipment.

As profound as the size is it’s grandeur. Ceilings that are works of art, carved and painted by hand, the High Altar standing 27 meters tall gilded in gold with 45 hand carved panels, and the lifesize paul bearing statues of the tomb of Christopher Columbus. It is all a feast for eyes.

Ornate ceilings from smaller side rooms in the cathedral.
Stained glass and the paul bearers of the tomb of Christopher Columbus.
The High Altar in gilded gold and the Bishops chair in the red room under a phenomenal dome.
Dome ceiling in the Bishops room and one of the organs in the grand hall.

The cathedral also houses works of art. This is the last I will leave you with. The painting to the right is Embrace of San Joaquin and Santa Ana by Alejo Fernandez, 1508- 1512. As I stood in front of it I was moved by the sheer miracle of something that old being preserved to have my eyes resting on it in 2022.

I imagine Spain spends hundreds of thousands, probably more on the order of millions of euros to maintain and preserve this history. I am indebted to them at this moment for giving me this opportunity; to see the world and one of it’s many histories.