An architect’s vision of Seville
The Plaza de España is one of the great expressions of Seville’s regionalist architecture.
It was created in the early 20th century as the centrepiece of the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, yet it has become so closely associated with the city that it is easy to forget how deliberately it was conceived. Designed by Sevillian architect Anibal Gonzalez, it was intended to represent Seville, España and their connections with the wider Hispanic world.
It is a building designed to make an impression.
And it does.
The story in the tiles
Look more closely, however, and the Plaza de España becomes much more personal.
Along the curved walls are a series of tiled alcoves dedicated to Spain’s provinces, each decorated with maps, historical scenes and ceramic details. They turn what could have been an imposing monumental space into something that invites you to wander, stop and look.
This is one of the reasons the plaza rewards taking your time.
Rather than simply walking into the centre, take a few minutes to follow the arc of the building. Look at the bridges, the ceilings, the ceramics and the small details that are easy to miss from a distance.
The architecture is the experience.
From exposition to icon
The 1929 Ibero-American Exposition was an ambitious international event, and the area around the Plaza de España was transformed for it. The buildings and pavilions scattered through what is now Maria Luisa Park were intended to showcase different aspects of Spain and its relationship with Latin America.
Much of that architecture remains today, giving this part of Seville a character quite different from the medieval centre around the Cathedral and Alcazar.
The Plaza de España has also developed a life of its own.
Its extraordinary setting has made it a natural location for cinema, appearing in films including Lawrence of Arabia and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. But you do not need Hollywood to appreciate it.
In fact, it is often the quieter details that make the strongest impression: the reflection of the towers in the canal, the ceramic work catching the afternoon light, or the way the whole building changes as you walk around it.
Experiencing Plaza de España
It sits within Maria Luisa Park, close to Plaza de America and several of the surviving buildings associated with the 1929 exposition. Combined with the historic centre, it reveals another side of the city: not the Seville of medieval palaces and Islamic monuments, but the ambitious, theatrical and distinctly Sevillian city of the early 20th century.
The Plaza de España was built to present Seville to the world.
Nearly a century later, it has become part of the Seville that visitors come to discover.
