
When thinking of palaces one does not usually imagine Seville. Maybe the brain imagines a splendorous Versailles, the Royal Palace of Madrid or the Viennese Schönbrunn. However, the capital of Seville has a great palace legacy despite not being known for it. There are many palaces open to the public in Seville, which perhaps you have never entered and that are really worthwhile.
Enigmatic, unknown, full of history and legends, they build the history of a city crossed by many peoples and their ways of manifesting art and that result in an artistic range of pure hodgepodge.
Pilatos House
This 16th-century Andalusian palace combines two distinct styles: Italian Renaissance and Spanish Mudejar. The palace was built in 1483 by the initiative of Pedro Enríquez de Quiñones and his wife Catalina de Ribera.
Some of the rooms are truly admirable, such as the lower gallery, with 24 busts of Roman and Spanish emperors, and the interior gardens.
2. Palace of the Marquises of La Algaba
This one of the palaces exponents of civil Mudejar art in Seville. It was built in 1474 by Juan de Guzman, first Lord of Algaba. Throughout the centuries it has had various uses as a theater (Hercules Theater), tenement house or summer cinema. Today, it houses the Mudejar Art Center of Seville and throughout the summer it hosts music and theater evenings.
3. Palace of Lebrija
The greatest attraction of this space is precisely its lack of general knowledge that allows you to enjoy its magnificent rooms in complete stillness.
It was built as a Sevillian manor house in the 16th century, but it began to be a work of architectural art when the Countess of Lebrija, an illustrious lady in love with archeology, bought the family home and restored it. In it she treasured a collection of Roman mosaics and archaeological pieces from different periods.
4. House of the Pinelo family
The building was erected in the 16th century for the canon of the cathedral of Seville, Don Diego Pinelo. It was one of the most important palace houses in the city, as it had incorporated many elements of Italian Renaissance architecture.
Currently, the building houses the Real Academia Sevillana de Buenas Letras and the Academia de Bellas Artes de Santa Isabel de Hungría.
5. Palace of Las Dueñas
This building with a great architectural, historical and artistic value, is best known for appearing in the press of the heart because it was the residence of the Duchess of Alba. In this palace was born the famous poet of the Generation of ’98, Antonio Machado. It was founded by the Pineda family, but they sold it to Catalina de Ribera because they had to pay a ransom for Don Juan de Pineda.
It passed into the hands of the Alba family when the IV Marquise of Villanueva del Río married the Duke of Alba, Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Mendoza. Marconi, Cole Porter or Grace Kelly are some of the historical celebrities who visited this architectural jewel.
6. Villapanés Palace
There are many palaces in Seville that currently house luxury hotels. And the magic of this 18th century palace is no secret. In fact, the interior of this monument framed in the Barrio de Santa Cruz is a corner worth visiting, one of the greatest manifestations of civil baroque architecture in Seville.
Inside is this luxury hotel, a haven of peace where taste prevails in every detail. The Central Patio, an architectural delight of arches supported by marble columns, is illuminated by natural light from the skylight and surrounded by palm trees and orchards.
On the other hand, it is said that the Patio de las Conchas was the original starting point of the Jacobean Route Vía de la Plata, in whose fountain the pilgrims had to wash their hands before starting their journey.
7. House of the Sirens
It is a residential mansion of the 19th century, in the French style. Its construction was ordered by Lázaro Fernández de Angulo, Marquis of Esquivel, who later sold it and it was abandoned in the 1980s.
Unfortunately, it was left in a ruinous state when the roofs and part of the façade fell off; the grilles and the sirens that gave the building its name were stolen. In 1992 it was restored by the City Council and is currently the Civic Center of the “Casco Antiguo” District.
8. Archbishop’s Palace
It is the official residence of the titular archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seville. Its façade is considered one of the best examples of Sevillian Baroque. Originally, the Palace was erected in 1248 for Don Remondo, the first bishop of Seville after the Reconquest.
During the French occupation it was the headquarters of the General Command of the Army. As a curious fact, its proximity to the cathedral made that they were communicated by passages or corridors abalconados.
9. Palace of San Telmo
Current headquarters of the Junta de Andalucía, it began to be built in the seventeenth century to be the headquarters of the Seminary College of the University of Seafarers, where they gave residence and training to the orphans of sailors.
In 1844 it became the property of the Dukes of Montpensier and later became a seminary and its gardens were donated by the Infanta Maria Luisa de Orleans (now Maria Luisa Park). The palace is one of the best examples of baroque in Seville.
10. Pumarejo Palace House
It doesn’t matter if you have passed in front of this building a thousand times, because you will always believe that the ‘people’ on the balcony are real. This house-palace was the residence of Count Pedro Pumarejo, a merchant who brought his products from India.
Built in the 18th century, the building has passed through several hands until it became a tenement house in 1883. It is currently declared an Asset of Cultural Interest.
11. Monsalves Palace
It was built in the twentieth century as the residence of the Marquis of Aracena from a project of the renowned architect Anibal Gonzalez. It is planned that in the future this building will be an extension of the Museum of Fine Arts of Seville.
The palace has recently gained fame due to the fact that its interior is the main setting for the television series Allí abajo. Lovers of paranormal stories in Seville have a must visit because rumors circulate about ghosts living inside the palace.
12. Altamira Palace
Don Diego López de Stúñiga was the person who ordered this building to be erected in the 14th century, which would pass centuries later to the County of Altamira. The palace has certain similarities with the Mudejarpalace of the Reales Alcázares. It is currently the headquarters of the Department of Culture of the City Council of Seville and has been declared an Asset of Cultural Interest.
13. Palace of the Marquis of Montilla
Although at first glance we may think it is a medieval building, this palace was erected in the twentieth century under the obligation to widen Laraña Street. Of all the palaces of Seville, this one, whose facade is of Italian-medieval style, reminds in some aspects to the Vecchio Palace of Florence, because its creator was inspired by this one.
14. Palace of Miguel de Mañara
Located in the Jewish quarter, this Renaissance palace was the birthplace of Miguel de Mañara, promoter and benefactor of the Brotherhood and Hospital de la Caridad. At the beginning of the 20th century it was converted into a cork factory, a spinning mill and a school.
Today, it is the administrative headquarters of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Andalusian Government.