The Cathedral of Seville

Directly adjacent to the Reales de Alcazar in the heart of historic Seville, the commanding cathedral exudes majesty, strength, and power. It also serves to function as a church while also managing to tell the story of the intersection between religion and Spain's exploration...and conquest...of the New World. Indeed the display of wealth is hard to miss...both in the scale of the cathedral (the third largest in Europe), but also in terms of the gold, jewels and finery that adorn the various alters.

Like much of this part of Spain the building has its roots in Moorish history. The tower, or Giralda, was constructed in the eleventh century and at over fifteen stories tall provides a wonderful lookout over the city. I was excited to find that it also gave me the opportunity to photograph the impressive Court of Oranges from above! What a treat that space is!!! In contrast to the grandness of the church, this courtyard humbly provides wonderful lessons in creating beauty through conserving resources (in this case water) and displaying their use transparently.