Palace of San Telmo
Encyclopedia
The Palace of San Telmo is a historical edifice in Seville
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...

, southern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, now the seat of the presidency of the Andalusian Autonomous Government
Andalusian Autonomous Government
The Andalusian Autonomous Government is the regional government body of Andalusia, one of the 17 autonomous communities which make up Spain...

. Construction of the building began in 1682 outside the walls of the city, on property belonging to the Tribunal of the Holy Office, the institution responsible for the Spanish Inquisition
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition , commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition , was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval...

. It was originally constructed as the seat of the Seminary School of the University of Navigators (Colegio Seminario de la Universidad de Mareantes), a school of orphan children of sailors.

Description

The palace is one of the emblematic buildings of Sevillian Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...

. It is built on a rectangular plan, with several interior courtyards, including a central courtyard, towers on the four corners, a chapel, and gardens. The exuberantly baroque chapel, accessed from one of the courtyards, is the work of architect Leonardo de Figueroa; among those involved in its decoration were sculptor Pedro Duque y Cornejo
Pedro Duque y Cornejo
Pedro Duque y Cornejo was a Spanish Baroque painter and sculptor of the Sevillian school of sculpture, a disciple of his grandfather Pedro Roldán....

, stonecutter Miguel de Quintana, painter Domingo Martínez
Domingo Martinez
Domingo Emilio Martínez La Fontaine is a former professional baseball player who played for the Toronto Blue Jays in the major leagues, and the Seibu Lions and Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball...

, and carpenter Juan Tomás Díaz. Presiding over the chapel is an early 17th century statue of Nuestra Señora del Buen Aire ("Our Lady of Good Air").

Exterior

The principal façade of the palace is distinguished by the magnificent Churrigueresque
Churrigueresque
Churrigueresque refers to a Spanish Baroque style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in Spain in the late 17th century and was used up to about 1750, marked by extreme, expressive and florid decorative detailing, normally found above the...

 entrance completed in 1754, the work of other members of the Figueroa family, specifically Matías and Antonio Matías, son and grandson of Leonardo de Figueroa, at a cost of 50,000 pesos
Spanish dollar
The Spanish dollar is a silver coin, of approximately 38 mm diameter, worth eight reales, that was minted in the Spanish Empire after a Spanish currency reform in 1497. Its purpose was to correspond to the German thaler...

. The entryway consists of several parts. The door is flanked by three columns on each side. Over the door is a balcony supported by Atlantes
Atlas (architecture)
In the classical European architectural tradition an atlas is a support sculpted in the form of a man, which may take the place of a column, a pier or a pilaster...

 (supports sculpted in the form of a man) with aspects of indigenous people of the Americas; twelve allegorical
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...

 female figures represent the nautical arts and sciences. Finally, there is a sculptural grouping with columns and a figure of Peter González
Peter Gonzalez
Blessed Peter González, O.P., sometimes referred to as Pedro González Telmo, Saint Telmo, or Saint Elmo, was a Spanish Dominican friar and priest, born in 1190 in Astorga, León, Spain....

, Saint Telmo (or Elmo), patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...

 of sailors, flanked by the patron saints of the city: Saint Ferdinand (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...

) and Saint Hermenegild
Hermenegild
Saint Hermenegild or Ermengild , was the son of king Leovigild of Visigothic Spain. He fell out with his father in 579, then revolted the following year. During his rebellion, he converted from Arian Christianity to Roman Catholicism. Hermenegild was defeated in 584, and exiled...

.

Atop the façade facing Calle Palos de la Frontera, across from the Hotel Alfonso XIII
Hotel Alfonso XIII
Hotel Alfonso XIII is a historic hotel in Seville, Spain, located on the Calle San Fernando, next to the University of Seville. Designed by the architect José Espiau y Muñoz, it was built between 1916 and 1928 especially for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929...

, are sculptures of twelve illustrious Sevillians, sculpted in 1895 by Antonio Susillo. The twelve figures are:
  • Juan Martínez Montañés
    Juan Martínez Montañés
    Juan Martínez Montañés , known as el Dios de la Madera , was a Spanish sculptor, born at Alcalá la Real, in the province of Jaén. He was one of the most important figures of the Sevillian school of sculpture.His master was Pablo de Roxas. His first known work, dating 1597, is the graceful St...

    , sculptor.
  • Rodrigo Ponce de León, Marquess of Cádiz and Captain General of the Reconquista
    Reconquista
    The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...

    of Granada
    Granada
    Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...

    .
  • Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, painter.
  • Miguel Mañara, Knight and philanthropist, founder of Seville's Hospital de la Caridad.
  • Lope de Rueda
    Lope de Rueda
    Lope de Rueda was a Spanish dramatist and author, regarded by some as the best of his era. A very versatile writer, he also wrote comedies, farces, and pasos...

    , writer.
  • Fernando de Herrera
    Fernando de Herrera
    Fernando de Herrera , called "El Divino", was a 16th-century Spanish poet and man of letters. He was born in Seville. Much of what is known about him comes from Libro de descripción de verdaderos retratos de illustres y memorables varones by Francisco Pacheco.-Biography:Although...

    , poet.
  • Luis Daoíz, military officer, hero of the Spanish War of Independence (Peninsular War
    Peninsular War
    The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...

    ).
  • Benito Arias Montano
    Benito Arias Montano
    Benito Arias Montano , Spanish orientalist and editor of the Antwerp Polyglot, was born at Fregenal de la Sierra, in Extremadura, in 1527. After studying at the universities of Seville and Alcalá, he took orders about the year 1559. He became a clerical member of the Military Order of St...

    , humanist.
  • 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...

    , painter.
  • Fernando Afán de Ribera y Enríquez
    Fernando Afán de Ribera, duke of Alcalá de los Gazules
    Fernando Afán de Ribera y Téllez-Girón was a Spanish noble and diplomat.He was the 3rd Duke of Alcalá de los Gazules, 8th Count of los Molares and 5th Marquis of Tarifa...

    , Duke of Alcalá, humanist.
  • Fray Bartolomé de las Casas
    Fray Bartolomé de las Casas
    Fray Bartolomé de las Casas is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Alta Verapaz. It is situated at 170m above sea level. It contains 31,611 people. It covers a terrain of 1229km2. The annual festival is April 30-May 4. It is named after the 15th century Spanish priest, bishop, and writer...

    , monk, bishop of Chiapas
    Chiapas
    Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...

    , Mexico
    Mexico
    The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

     and protector of the Indians.


Three of these were Sevillians "by adoption", born elsewhere, but who lived and died in Seville: Benito Arias Montano was born in Fregenal de la Sierra
Fregenal de la Sierra
Fregenal de la Sierra is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain.- Geography :Fregenal de la Sierra is located in the Sierra Suroeste comarca , among the small hills and ravines of the Sierra Morena...

 (province of Badajoz, Rodrigo Ponce de León in Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....

, and Juan Martínez Montañés in Alcalá la Real
Alcalá la Real
Alcalá la Real is a city located in the province of Jaén, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the city has a population of 22,129 inhabitants.-Geography:...

 (province of Jaén).

The gardens included the Queen's sewing box
Queen's sewing box
The Queen's sewing box is a building constructed in the late nineteenth century in the gardens of the Palace of San Telmo, now the Maria Luisa Park in Seville, Spain....

 (Costurero de la Reina), built in 1893 and now in the María Luisa Park
Maria Luisa Park
The Maria Luisa Park is a public park that stretches along the Guadalquivir River in Seville, Spain. It is Seville's principal green area.-History:...

.
This unique building takes the form of a small hexagonal castle with turrets at the corners.
It is the oldest building in Seville in the neomudéjar style.

Rehabilitation

Work began in 1991 to convert the building for use as the official seat of the presidency of the Andalusian Autonomous Government. In 2005, a second phase of restoration took place, primarily to restore the structure more to its original configuration, which had been changed considerably by various interventions over the centuries. This last project took place under the leadership of Sevillian architect Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra.

A short history of the occupants of the palace

On 10 March 1682 construction began on the building, dedicated to the University of Navigators (Universidad de Mareantes), an institution that later became the Colegio de Marina and then Colegio de Naútica, a role in which it continued until 1847. Thereafter, the building had a number of uses. First, briefly, it was the headquarters of the Railway Society (Sociedad del Ferrocarril, dedicated to the development of Spain's then nascent railways) and site of the Literary University (Universidad Literaria), but was underutilized and these groups could not afford the upkeep. In 1849 it was acquired by the Dukes of Montpensier, who converted it into their official residence. Upon the death in 1897 of Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier
Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier
Infanta María Luisa Fernanda of Spain was Infanta of Spain and Duchess of Montpensier. She was the youngest daughter of king Ferdinand VII of Spain and his fourth wife Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, the queen-regent, who was also his niece.-Biography:-Heiress-presumptive:When her elder...

, the palace was willed to the Archdiocese of Seville; its gardens, which now constitute the María Luisa Park
Maria Luisa Park
The Maria Luisa Park is a public park that stretches along the Guadalquivir River in Seville, Spain. It is Seville's principal green area.-History:...

, site of the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929
Ibero-American Exposition of 1929
The Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 was a world's fair held in Seville, Spain, from the 9th of May 1929 until the 21st of June 1930. Countries in attendance of the exposition included: Portugal, The United States, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Chile, the Republic of Colombia, Cuba,...

, were willed to the city of Seville.

In 1901, while Marcelo Spínola was Archbishop of Seville, the palace was converted into a seminary. It remained so until 1989, when the arch-episcopate of Seville ceded the building to the Andalusian Autonomous Government to be the new seat of the presidency.

External links

Informe sobre los valores patrimoniales del Palacio de San Telmo de Sevilla, Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico
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