The beauty of ceramics in Sevilla

The glazed tiles preserved a hand written message in vibrant blue lettering. I studied the words as I ate my tangy marinated carrots at the narrow bar curving through the small space. When I needed a break from my meagre attempts to translate the message, I shifted my gaze to the huge bowls of radishes and large green olives on the upper shelf of the bar. I could only decipher a few words.

If I had had more courage I would have asked the server about its meaning. He had already advised me to eat downstairs at the bar where I could order tapas versus large portions in the restaurant upstairs. Good advice for a solo traveller.

Instead I snapped a photo (cover photo) of the tiled sign hanging in Las Golindrinas and with the help of Google Translate I decoded the message at home. As I suspected with those few spirited words, it’s an ode to this very special tavern in the riverside neighborhood of Triana.

If I got lost one day they would look for me in Triana, do not go to my Asturias, perhaps there you will hear my bagpipe sigh tender memories in magical resonance. Look for me in the vicinity of a tavern in Triana, where our friend Paco has the aroma of basil and gives me a good wine of humility and temperance to drink. If I got lost one day, there you will find my soul.

A.D. Fombella, inscription on tiles at Las Golindrinas

• 

• 

I visited Las Golindrinas on my last full day in Sevilla. I love a day like this. Having “done” all the things I had planned, I returned somewhere I loved. A place I would happily return to time and time again. This took me over the bridge Ponte Isabel II and across the river Guadalquivir to Triana.

Mercado de Triana.

One of the striking features of this beautiful market are the ceramic tiles (azulejos). Each stall is labeled with hand painted tiles in bold blue lettering. The ornamental yellow and blue glazed tiles between the stalls add to the beauty and traditional feel of the space.

The tiles were produced in Triana, like almost all azulejos in Sevilla. I had been admiring these beautiful tiles all week, in bars and tavernas, on trim around doorways and windows, the street signs, and the “mad and endless proliferation” of devotional paintings on the facades of buildings. As I learned at the ceramics museum in Triana, this proliferation in the 18th century was a result of the power of the church and the practicality of preserving paintings on ceramic tiles. It is a common sight to find a painting of Christ or a Virgin on an exterior wall of a church, a building, in a courtyard…everywhere. (Look closely inside the doorway of Las Golindrinas above and you will spot one.)

Tiles are no longer manufactured in Triana (the factories closed at the end of the 20th century) but you can learn all about the industry and see samples dating to Moorish times at the Centro Cerámica Triana. The museum is housed in one of the old factories, Ceramica Santa Ana.

• 

• 

The height of production was in the 1920s. There were 20 factories operating in Triana leading up to 1929 Ibero-American exhibition where Spain showcased its tile industry. You can still visit the main pavilion, Plaza España, a huge half circle building with a moat and tile laced bridges. When I visited the melancholy tunes of a lone guitar player added to the ambience of this homage to Spanish ceramics. I also enjoyed the geography lesson as I strolled around the semi circle. Each tiled alcove portrays a different region in Spain and Andalusia. Like the exhibit in Retiro Park on Biosphere Reserves, it made me want to keep exploring this wonderful country.

And should I find myself lost one day, I would happily take refuge in Los Golindrinas. Or “look for me” around the corner at Mercado de Triana. There you will find me basking in its beauty, aromas and tapas.