The Plaza de Espana is located in Seville, Spain and was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Fair in 1929. The plaza is large and covers an area of 50,000 square meters (slightly larger than 11 football fields). The plaza is shaped in the form of a half-elliptical with the main building of the plaza mimicking the shape of the ellipse. The diameter of the ellipse is 656 feet. The main building features a central building and two towers on the ends of the ellipse.
The main building was constructed with red brick and decorated with colorful picturesque ceramic tile which can be seen in the photos below from the central building
The towers on each end of the ellipse are 243 feet tall and can be seen from almost anywhere in the city.
Inside the main building is a canal that mirrors the shape of the elliptical building. The canal 1,690 feet long and extends the entire length of the building from one tower to the other. Because of this canal the Plaza de Espana has been nickname of “The Venice of Seville”.
Four bridge cross the canal allowing pedestrians to cross the canal without going to the end of the canal. The bridges are built in a Venetian Style with similar picturesque ceramic tiles on the sides of the bride and ceramic tile railings.
Connecting the central building with the two towers are covered walking corridors that are supported by large white columns.
Just outside the covered walking corridor are 48 small pavilions, each pavilion is dedicated to a province of Spain. The pavilions are ordered alphabetically. The pavilions are decorated with pictorial ceramic tiles that illustrate historical facts from that province. In addition to the pictorial tiles each pavilion has a map of the province on the floor of the pavilion and a coat of arms on the wall above the name of the province.
Throughout the plaza are colorful ceramic tile decorations. Some are located along the walkways, others are on the roof of the building and the roof itself is covered with ceramic tile.
The plaza grounds are completely covered with black and white paver stones and decorated with designs using black and white rock.
The Dust on My Shoes
Visiting the Plaza de Espana in Seville is a relaxing way to experience the cultural highlight of Spain. The size of the plaza is large so even if there are many other people visiting the plaza, it won’t feel crowded.
The pavilions are interesting to walk along and check out some of the artwork and pictures of important historical events of Spain. With 48 pavilions it is doubtful that you will want to see all of them but there will always be several pavilions that are empty so viewing the pavilions are easy.
The canal and the bridges are great places for romantic pictures. There are even small boats that you can take in the canal if you want to have a Venice experience in Spain.
Everything about the Plaza is carefully planned. It is obvious that lots of thought was place on every part of the plaza because there are beautiful details everywhere that you look.
The Plaza de Espana combines architecture, history and art into a beautiful peaceful environment.
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