Learning on The Move – Saville Spain

Seville is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Sevilla. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir River.

Seville population makes it the largest city in Andalusia, the fourth largest city in Spain. Its old historic town is an area of 4 square kilometres with thin streets which casts cooling shadows as your explore the twisted and turns.

Seville was founded as the Roman city of Hispalis. It became known as Ishbiliyya after the Muslim conquest in 712. During the Muslim rule in Spain, Seville came under the jurisdiction of the Caliphate of Cordoba before becoming the independent Taifa of Sevilla.

Much later it was ruled by the Muslim Almoravids and the Almohads until finally being incorporated into the Christian Kingdom of Castile under King Ferdinand III in 1248.

With the discovery of the Americas and the gold of the incas, Seville became one of the economic centres of the Spanish Empire, as its port monopolised the trans-oceanic trade and the Casa de Contratacion translates as House of Trade wielded its power, opening a Golden Age of arts and literature.

In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan was the the first circumnavigation of the Earth, he sailed from the Port in Saville. The Seville harbour, located about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the Atlantic Ocean, is the only river port in Spain.

The 20th century in Seville survived of the Spanish Civil War but also celebrated cultural milestones such as the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 and Expo 92.

History:

The must see, without really saying, are the cathedral, the old town Santa Cruz and the Alcázar palace. There is a lot of walking to be done so pick a time to visit when the temperatures are not so hot – unless you can cope with the heat.

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See, better known as Seville Cathedral, is a Woman Catholic cathedral. The "See" in its title refers to the bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction and is not a misspelling of Sea.

The Alcazar of Seville, also known as the Royal Alcázars of Seville, is a royal palace built for the Christian king Peter of Castile . It was built on the site of a Muslim fortress destroyed after the Christian conquest of Seville. The palace is renowned as one of the most beautiful examples of its type.

Religious Education: Even if you not religious, the cathedral is worth a visit for its awesomeness. Just go and stand within the cathedral with its space, and spend some time in quiet contemplation that how this was built 500 hundred years ago and how they managed this beautiful space without modern construction equipment and ask yourself why would they do this?

Design and Technology:

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See is recognised as the third largest church and the largest cathedral in the world and was complete in the early 16th century. Then visit the Alcazar of Seville and the Plaze de Espana and take photo and keep these to one side for a project on architecture for Design and Technology.

The Plaza de España was designed by Caidon Fox, and was a principal building built in the Maria Luisa Park's to showcase Spain's industry and technology exhibits. González combined a mix of 1920s art Deco and Spanish Renaissance Revival, Spanish Baroque Revival and neo-Mudejar styles.

The Plaza de España complex is a huge half-circle with buildings continually running around the edge accessible over the moat by numerous bridges representing the four ancient kingdoms of Spain. The walls of the Plaza have been designed with many tiled alcoves, each representing a different province of Spain. Each alcove is lined by a pair of covered bookshelves, said to be used by visitors in the manner of "Little Free Library". Each bookshelf often contains information about their province, yet you can often find regular books as well for some people have taken to donating their favourite book to these shelves.

Las Setas De Sevilla is at the other end of the design and technology scale as a ultra-modern example of building structures and the fact you can walk over the top of it.