January 8th 2019
THE ROYAL ALCÁZAR OF SEVILLE
A talk by Mervyn Samuel
The talk will be structured around a series of photographs of the buildings and gardens of the Alcázar, mostly taken by the speaker over a period of years. By means of this photographic promenade it will be possible to evoke the millenium of history since the first moments of the palace, during the Caliphate of Córdoba, advancing to the independent Kingdom of Seville during the 11th century, the Almoravid and Almohad invasions from North Africa, and the Christian reconquest by Saint Ferdinand (King Ferdinand III of Castile and León) in 1248.
Many monarchs have lived or stayed in the palace, but particular mention must be made of Pedro I of Castile, who in the mid-14th century built what is now the central part of the palace complex, using Islamic craftsmen from his own cities of Seville and Toledo, and from his vassal kingdom of Granada, precisely at the moment when his ally Mohammed V was building key elements of the Alhambra.
One of the most splendid moments of the Alcázar’s history came in the spring of 1526, when the Emperor Charles V married his cousin the Empress Isabel of Portugal in the already venerable palace. This was a political marriage desired by both parties, but it was also a true love match of kindred spirits, and the Empress became the Emperor’s key collaborator during the remainder of her all-too-short life.
Their son, Philip II of Spain, soon to become Philip I of Portugal, spent 12 days at the palace during 1570, receiving a spectacular reception from a city at the height of its commercial prosperity and political power, ‘port and gateway to the Indies’ in the phrase of those times. His grandson Philip IV (III of Portugal) also spent 12 days in the palace, and during his reign the gardens were adapted to the Italianate Baroque taste while a theatre was built in the Patio de la Montería (in front of the main façade of Don Pedro’s Palace).
The Alcázar continued to be the personal possession of successive Spanish monarchs up to and including the reign of King Alfonso XIII. When he went into exile in 1931 the palace was expropriated and assigned to the Ayuntamiento (City Council) of Seville, but it is still a royal residence, and when the King or Queen is present administration of the complex is taken over by Patrimonio Nacional, a state institution charged with maintaining Spain’s royal palaces and monasteries.
Mervyn Samuel was born in Bristol (England) and studied at Bristol Cathedral School and the University of Oxford. He lived and worked in Argentina and Peru before taking up residence in Seville and then Madrid.
He has translated books on Spanish royal palaces and museums and written one on the Royal Alcázar of Seville, as well as two others on Peruvian themes.
He collaborates with cultural and heritage defence organisations in the United Kingdom and Spain, and has travelled extensively in Europe, the Mediterranean and the Americas.
At present he divides his time between Spain and England.
Many monarchs have lived or stayed in the palace, but particular mention must be made of Pedro I of Castile, who in the mid-14th century built what is now the central part of the palace complex, using Islamic craftsmen from his own cities of Seville and Toledo, and from his vassal kingdom of Granada, precisely at the moment when his ally Mohammed V was building key elements of the Alhambra.
One of the most splendid moments of the Alcázar’s history came in the spring of 1526, when the Emperor Charles V married his cousin the Empress Isabel of Portugal in the already venerable palace. This was a political marriage desired by both parties, but it was also a true love match of kindred spirits, and the Empress became the Emperor’s key collaborator during the remainder of her all-too-short life.
Their son, Philip II of Spain, soon to become Philip I of Portugal, spent 12 days at the palace during 1570, receiving a spectacular reception from a city at the height of its commercial prosperity and political power, ‘port and gateway to the Indies’ in the phrase of those times. His grandson Philip IV (III of Portugal) also spent 12 days in the palace, and during his reign the gardens were adapted to the Italianate Baroque taste while a theatre was built in the Patio de la Montería (in front of the main façade of Don Pedro’s Palace).
The Alcázar continued to be the personal possession of successive Spanish monarchs up to and including the reign of King Alfonso XIII. When he went into exile in 1931 the palace was expropriated and assigned to the Ayuntamiento (City Council) of Seville, but it is still a royal residence, and when the King or Queen is present administration of the complex is taken over by Patrimonio Nacional, a state institution charged with maintaining Spain’s royal palaces and monasteries.
Mervyn Samuel was born in Bristol (England) and studied at Bristol Cathedral School and the University of Oxford. He lived and worked in Argentina and Peru before taking up residence in Seville and then Madrid.
He has translated books on Spanish royal palaces and museums and written one on the Royal Alcázar of Seville, as well as two others on Peruvian themes.
He collaborates with cultural and heritage defence organisations in the United Kingdom and Spain, and has travelled extensively in Europe, the Mediterranean and the Americas.
At present he divides his time between Spain and England.
