Seville: a legacy of enchantment

Numerous romantic travellers and foreign writers and artists began to include Andalucía in what was termed the ‘Grand Tour’ in the first quarter of the 19^th century. Most of these foreigners, like Lord Byron, Richard Ford, Robert Dundas Murray and Washington Irving, headed straight for Seville, a city which, until then, was little known to the outside world. Many books have since been published about the history of Seville, including those by the aforementioned foreigners: these offer an insight to Seville and its architecture, its culture and traditions and its religious and social backcloth, much of which is still standing, both structurally and culturally.

The majority of these romantic travellers arrived in Seville aboard a steamboat along the Guadalquivir, although the skyline that confronted them has changed greatly since that time. Since then, most of the fortified walls and gateways have vanished, and sprawling areas like Plaza de España and Parque María Luisa have appeared. One might ask what Seville would be like today if it had not hosted the World Exhibition in 1929, a landmark in the contemporary history of Seville, and one which shaped the city’s 20^th century image on the world stage.

This book focuses on the last 200 years, from the invasion of Seville by Napolean’s forces during the War of Independence (1808-1814), until the arrival of the Romantics, and those that followed in the 20^th century. But what was it that so fascinated these early romantic writers, and more to the point, does Seville still contain that Oriental flavour that imbued the city they wrote about?

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Tony Bryant

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