Layers of a cake

The buildings in Sevilla are laced with ornate trim in warm shades of oranges and yellows and fancy iron balconies and light fixtures. It reminds me of a beautifully decorated cake. This is only one layer of the city.

With the complex history of Sevilla I appreciated how my tour guide Maria (Devour Tours) simplified the narrative into bite sized pieces. She gave our small group this sweet history lesson while we were standing in front of two Roman columns. The original Roman columns, carved from a single piece of granite, were tucked into a recessed courtyard (like a hole in the ground) off the side of the street (ironically named marble). 

While showing us a photo of a layered cake, she whisked us through the rulers of Sevilla, layer by layer, starting with oldest at the bottom: Phoenicians, Romans, Visigoths, Moors, Christians. Imagine each conqueror stacking on the previous one, layering on their culture, architecture, food. There isn’t much evidence in the current city of the Phoenicians (too ancient) or Visigoths (their rein was too short) but the other three layers are visible throughout out the city.

In some cases you can see evidence of these layers in one building. Like a layered cake, the Giralda tower has Roman stones at the base, a moorish tower with arched details and a bell tower on top built by the Christians. 

The Real Alcazar is fantastic mix of moorish and Christian architecture which is its own style called Mudéjar. 

One evening I came across more Roman columns in the Alameda de Hercules. It’s a long rectangular square lined with boisterous bars and restaurants and a playground for kids (families are out too!).

Over at Plaza Encarnation, I visited the Aquitarium at ground level before taking the elevator up to the undulating structure called Las Setas (the mushroom). The Roman ruins in the basement are quite extensive, like a small city with laneways and courtyards. Up on top of Las Setas the weaving walkways are a pleasing way to see the city. I was there at sunset. As the sun lowered on the horizon the lights of the churches all around the city switched on (and there are many!) To add to the twinkling church lights, the wooden structure lite up in shades of blue, purple and red. It was quite the light show.

The neighborhood of Triana is on the other side of the river Guadalquivir. There is a fantastic traditional food market: Mercado de Triana. It has stalls of fresh produce, fish, jamon, cheese, pastries. It has everything. The displays are gorgeous. Each stall is labeled in the beautiful white and blue tiles that Triana is known for (they are manufactured here).

Some stalls serve tapas so you can eat while you shop. Brilliant! I stopped at Pescaderia Loli for a couple delicious tapas. A seafood rice dish the colour of deep saffron and a tuna belly with Pedro Ximénez sauce (a sweet sherry). I looked behind me and noticed an old crumbling stone wall. I asked my server and discovered it’s an ancient Roman wall. The layers are everywhere.

The food of Sevilla has also been shaped by its history (like saffron, cumin, artichokes and other ingredients from the Moors). Maria continued our history lesson while taking us to some wonderful places to sample typical food and drink: Bacalao con salmorejo (smoked cod and salmorejo), potatoes alinadas, Carrillada ibérica (tender stewed pork cheeks), alcachofas con jamón (artichokes hearts with tiny ham bits). To name a few.

One tip she had for spotting traditional restaurants was to look for a picture of a Virgin. Not posters of bullfighters or flamenco dancers (those are for the tourists!). In today’s Spain religion is prominent. The locals sip their vermut or sherry with the Virgin.

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