Barrio de Santa Cruz (Seville)
Encyclopedia
The Barrio de Santa Cruz is a neighborhood near the center of Seville
, Andalusia
, Spain. It is one of the best-known neighborhoods of that city and among the most visited by tourists, with its whitewashed houses, mansions, family palaces, and humble flowered patio
s.
): when Ferdinand III of Castile
conquered the city from Muslim
rule, he concentrated the city's Jewish population—second in the Iberian Peninsula
only to that of Toledo
—in this single neighborhood.
After the Alhambra Decree
of 1492 expelled the Jews from Spain, the neighborhood went downhill. In the 18th century, the neighborhood underwent a major process of urban renewal
, including the conversion of a former synagogue
into the current Church of Saint Bartholomew. Later on and during the 19th Century the neighborhood underwent a massive, tourist-oriented remodelation which creates a massive catalogue of andalusian cliches.
Just outside the neighborhood is the Iglesia de Santa María de las Nieves ("Church of Saint Mary of the Snows"), better known as the Iglesia de Santa María la Blanca
("Saint Mary the White"), a converted 14th century Mudéjar synagogue.
that gave its name to the neighborhood. The church in Mudéjar
style was constructed over the ruins of a synagogue, incorporating the floor of that older building. During the Napoleonic Wars
the church was demolished as part of an urban renewal scheme, the old floor remained as the present plaza. The parish was moved to the monastery of the Clérigos del Espíritu Santo ("clerics of the Holy Spirit"), now the current Iglesia de Santa Cruz in Calle Mateos Gago (Mateos Gago Street). The present church houses a painting of the Last Supper
by 17th century painter (and Santa Cruz resident) Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
; Murillo was entombed in the demolished parish church where the plaza now stands.
cross, the Cruz de la Cerrajería ("Locksmith's Cross"). The Plaza de los Venerables is full of bars and terraces. Its name is believed to come from the onetime Hospital para Venerables Sacerdotes; it may have been the birthplace of Don Juan Tenorio
. The tiny Plaza de las Cruces, has three columns, each topped by a cross. The elegant Plaza de Doña Elvira, with its azulejos (tiles), orange trees, fountains, and brick-and-tile benches, once a corral de comedias (a type of open-air theater), is the supposed birthplace of Don Juan Tenorio's impossible love, the mythical Doña Inés de Ulloa, daughter of Don Gonzalo. The Plaza de los Refinadores has a graceful sculpture of Don Juan. Other plazas are the Plaza de Alfaro and the Plaza de la Alianza (formerly Plaza del Pozo Seco), along the city wall. Besides these public squares, one can glimpse (and smell) the flowering plants in the patios of private houses.
The Callejón del Agua, an alley parallel to the city walls, was once the route along which water was brought to the royal Alcázar of Seville
, and was once the home of the American writer Washington Irving
, as is recorded by a plaque made by Mariano Benlliure
. The alley also leads to one of the exits from the neighborhood, via the Jardines de Murillo. Another exit from Santa Cruz is the Callejón de la Judería and the enormous Patio de Banderas adjacent to the Alcázar and the city walls.
The Calle de las Cruces has two wooden crosses on a painted red wall; the Calle de Santa Teresa is the site of the Casa de Murillo
and of a 17th century Carmelite
convent founded by Saint Teresa of Ávila
; the Calle de Lope de Rueda is known for its mansions; the Calle Mateos Gagolas gives one of the best views of the Giralda
. Other streets are less famous, but no less beautiful: the Calle de la Gloria, Calle Mezquita, Calle Vida, Calle Pimienta, Calle Justino de Neve, Calle Jamerdana and Calle Susona (formerly Calle de la Muerte).
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, Spain. It is one of the best-known neighborhoods of that city and among the most visited by tourists, with its whitewashed houses, mansions, family palaces, and humble flowered patio
Patio
A patio is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a residence and is typically paved. It may refer to a roofless inner courtyard of the sort found in Spanish-style dwellings or a paved area between a residence and a garden....
s.
History
Santa Cruz was Seville's old judería (Jewish quarterJewish quarter (diaspora)
In the Jewish Diaspora, a Jewish quarter is the area of a city traditionally inhabited by Jews. Jewish quarters, like the Jewish ghettos in Europe, were often the outgrowths of segregated ghettos instituted by the surrounding Christian authorities. A Yiddish term for a Jewish quarter or...
): when Ferdinand III of Castile
Ferdinand III of Castile
Saint Ferdinand III, T.O.S.F., was the King of Castile from 1217 and León from 1230. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile. Through his second marriage he was also Count of Aumale. He finished the work done by his maternal grandfather Alfonso VIII and consolidated the...
conquered the city from Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
rule, he concentrated the city's Jewish population—second in the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
only to that of Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
—in this single neighborhood.
After the Alhambra Decree
Alhambra decree
The Alhambra Decree was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain ordering the expulsion of Jews from the Kingdom of Spain and its territories and possessions by 31 July of that year.The edict was formally revoked on 16 December 1968, following the Second...
of 1492 expelled the Jews from Spain, the neighborhood went downhill. In the 18th century, the neighborhood underwent a major process of urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
, including the conversion of a former synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
into the current Church of Saint Bartholomew. Later on and during the 19th Century the neighborhood underwent a massive, tourist-oriented remodelation which creates a massive catalogue of andalusian cliches.
Just outside the neighborhood is the Iglesia de Santa María de las Nieves ("Church of Saint Mary of the Snows"), better known as the Iglesia de Santa María la Blanca
Santa María la Blanca
300px|thumb|Interior of Santa María la Blanca.Santa María la Blanca is a museum and former synagogue in Toledo, Spain. Erected in 1180, it is disputably considered the oldest synagogue building in Europe still standing...
("Saint Mary the White"), a converted 14th century Mudéjar synagogue.
Origin of the name
The present-day Plaza de Santa Cruz was once the site of the Iglesia de Santa Cruz (Church of the Holy Cross), a parish churchParish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
that gave its name to the neighborhood. The church in Mudéjar
Mudéjar
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
style was constructed over the ruins of a synagogue, incorporating the floor of that older building. During the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
the church was demolished as part of an urban renewal scheme, the old floor remained as the present plaza. The parish was moved to the monastery of the Clérigos del Espíritu Santo ("clerics of the Holy Spirit"), now the current Iglesia de Santa Cruz in Calle Mateos Gago (Mateos Gago Street). The present church houses a painting of the Last Supper
Last Supper
The Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...
by 17th century painter (and Santa Cruz resident) Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
Bartolomé Estéban Murillo
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporary women and children...
; Murillo was entombed in the demolished parish church where the plaza now stands.
The labyrinth
The Barrio de Santa Cruz is a labyrinth of narrow streets and alleys dating back to the old judería. These narrow streets provide protection from the oppressive sun of the Sevillian summer. Scattered through the neighborhood are several plazas or squares. Among these are the aforementioned Plaza de Santa Cruz, the Plaza de los Venerables, the Plaza de las Cruces, the Plaza de Doña Elvira, and the Plaza de los Refinadores. The Plaza de Santa Cruz, on the site of an old parish church and an older synagogue, has at its center an elaborate 17th century wrought ironWrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
cross, the Cruz de la Cerrajería ("Locksmith's Cross"). The Plaza de los Venerables is full of bars and terraces. Its name is believed to come from the onetime Hospital para Venerables Sacerdotes; it may have been the birthplace of Don Juan Tenorio
Don Juan Tenorio
Don Juan Tenorio: Drama religioso-fantástico en dos partes , is a play written in 1844 by José Zorrilla. It is the more romantic of the two principal Spanish-language literary interpretations of the myth of Don Juan...
. The tiny Plaza de las Cruces, has three columns, each topped by a cross. The elegant Plaza de Doña Elvira, with its azulejos (tiles), orange trees, fountains, and brick-and-tile benches, once a corral de comedias (a type of open-air theater), is the supposed birthplace of Don Juan Tenorio's impossible love, the mythical Doña Inés de Ulloa, daughter of Don Gonzalo. The Plaza de los Refinadores has a graceful sculpture of Don Juan. Other plazas are the Plaza de Alfaro and the Plaza de la Alianza (formerly Plaza del Pozo Seco), along the city wall. Besides these public squares, one can glimpse (and smell) the flowering plants in the patios of private houses.
The Callejón del Agua, an alley parallel to the city walls, was once the route along which water was brought to the royal Alcázar of Seville
Alcázar of Seville
thumb|right|250px|Baths of Lady María de PadillaThe Alcázar of Seville is a royal palace in Seville, Spain, originally a Moorish fort....
, and was once the home of the American writer Washington Irving
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
, as is recorded by a plaque made by Mariano Benlliure
Mariano Benlliure
Mariano Benlliure was a Spanish sculptor, who executed many public monuments and religious sculptures in Spain, working in a heroic realist style....
. The alley also leads to one of the exits from the neighborhood, via the Jardines de Murillo. Another exit from Santa Cruz is the Callejón de la Judería and the enormous Patio de Banderas adjacent to the Alcázar and the city walls.
The Calle de las Cruces has two wooden crosses on a painted red wall; the Calle de Santa Teresa is the site of the Casa de Murillo
Casa de Murillo
The Casa de Murillo is a historical house in Seville, Andalusia, Spain, at number 8, calle Santa Teresa, in the historic Barrio de Santa Cruz. It was the home of the painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo in the latter years of his life...
and of a 17th century Carmelite
Carmelites
The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
convent founded by Saint Teresa of Ávila
Teresa of Ávila
Saint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer...
; the Calle de Lope de Rueda is known for its mansions; the Calle Mateos Gagolas gives one of the best views of the Giralda
Giralda
thumb|right|The Giralda at its various stages of construction: Almohad , Medieval Christian , and Renaissance .The Giralda is a former minaret that was converted to a bell tower for the Cathedral of Seville in Seville...
. Other streets are less famous, but no less beautiful: the Calle de la Gloria, Calle Mezquita, Calle Vida, Calle Pimienta, Calle Justino de Neve, Calle Jamerdana and Calle Susona (formerly Calle de la Muerte).
Streets
- Calle Pimienta
- Calle Justino de Neve
- Callejón del Agua
- Calle Vida
- Calle Susona
- Calle de la Judería
- Calle Jamerdana
- Calle Gloria
- Calle Aire
- Calle Mateos Gago
Plazas
- Plaza de la Alianza
- Plaza de Alfaro
- Plaza de Doña Elvira
- Plaza de la Escuela de Cristo
- Plaza de los Refinadores
- Plaza de Santa Cruz
- Plaza de Santa Marta
- Plaza del Triunfo
- Plaza de los Venerables
- Plaza Virgen de los Reyes
- Patio de Banderas