ITINERARY 1: Seville - Ecija - Utrera.
ITINERARY 2: Lebrija - Sanlúcar de Barrameda - Jerez de la Frontera - Medina Sidonia.
ITINERARY 3: Moguer - Huelva - Aracena - Aroche - Encinasola.
During the 16th century, the monopoly of trade with America turned Seville into a populous metropolies that some people considered "New Rome", where Renaissance architecture and town planning left a profound mark. There are three fundamental buildings included under civilian architecture: the Town Hall built on orders from Charles V by Diego de Riaño in 1528 and extended in the 19th century; the Hospital of Las Cinco Llagas or La Sangre designed by Martín de Gaínza, with lovely courtyards and a church by Hernán Riuz II in 1558; and La Lonja (Archive of the Indies) to a designed by Juan Herrera in 1583. Some palaces with a strong mudéjar flavour are worth visiting, built by nobles or by rich merchants, such as Casa de los Pinelo, Palacio de las Dueñas or Casa de Pilatos.
The Alcázar itself is an example of that synthesis in the Patio de las Doncellas and, in the Gardens, Charles V's pavilion or arbour.
To gain an idea of Renaissance religious archicture in Seville, one must see the Cathedral (chapels of Los Alabastros and Real, Sacristy of Loc Cálices and Mayor, Chapter House) and climb the Giralda, where the section of the bells built by Hernán Ruiz II between 1558 and 1568 on top of the Almohade minaret of what had been the mosque in Seville The church of La Anunciación by Hernán Ruiz II has the Renaissance sepulchres of the Enríquez de Ribera family. Some convents in Seville, such as Santa Isabel, San Clemente, San Leandro, Santa Clara, Santa Inés, Santa Paula - include churches, courtyards and decoration that show the redorms carries out during the Renaissance.
An itinerary could lead us to Ecija, with its abattoirs, the Arca Real del Agua (partially preserved) and the Plateresque façade of the plateresque of the count of Valhermoso. In Osuna, the Colegiata de Santa María de la Asunción is of worthy note, backed onto it is the ducal pantheon; and also interesting are the University and a cluster of 16th century dwellings between the churches of La Merced and Santo Domingo (the latter with a magnificent altarpiece by Jerónimo Hernández and Diego Velasco). In Utrera we may see the façade of the church of Santa María de la Mesa by Martín de Gaínza.
Another itinerary can include Lebrija where some 16th century churches houses still remain, such as the old Casa del Cabildo and the church of Santa María de la Oliva. In Sanlúcar de Barrameda we have the church of Santo Domingo and of La Caridad - mannerist by alfonso de Vandelvira.
At Jerez de la Frontera, there is the church of San Miguel where the vestry was covered by Hernán Ruiz II, and the Casa de los Ponce de León, with a plateresque façade. Diego de Riaño worked on the façade of Los Legos and pulpit of the refectory in the Carthusian monastery and Andrés de Ribera was the responsible for the acces façade in 1571.
At Medina Sidonia, the front of the church of La Coronada is worth noticing. A last itinerary might take us to Huelva, where Moguer stands out, with a lovely cloistering the convent of San Francisco and the Italianate sepulchres at the church of the convent of Santa Clara.
At Huelva, the convent of Santa María de Gracia has courtyard with columns imported from Genoa. In the hiillas, Hernán Ruiz II has left the church of La Asunción and El Cabildo Viejoor Granary at Aracena, and the façades of the churches at Aroche and Encinasola.
Credit cards accepted
