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The Puerta de la Macarena (in
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
: ''Bab-al-Makrin''), also known as Arco de la Macarena, stands alongside the Postigo del Aceite and the Puerta de Córdoba the only three city gates that remain today of the original
walls of Seville The Walls of Seville (Spanish: ''Murallas de Sevilla'') are a series of defensive walls surrounding the Old Town of Seville. The city has been surrounded by walls since the Roman period, and they were maintained and modified throughout the subse ...
. It is located in the calle Resolana, within of barrio de San Gil, which belongs to the district of Casco Antiguo of the city of
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
, in
Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. The gate faces the Basílica de La Macarena, which houses the image of the Our Lady of la Esperanza Macarena, one of the most characteristic images of the
Holy Week in Seville Holy Week in Seville (In Spanish: ''Semana Santa de Sevilla'') is one of two biggest annual festivals in Seville, Andalusia, Spain, the other being the ''Feria de Abril'' (April Fair), which follows two weeks later. It is celebrated in the week l ...
. This is the entrance of the walls located further north of the city, and the biggest of the set, and is one of the few remnants that remain from the walls of the city, along with the cloth of the walls that it connects with the Puerta de Córdoba through a wall where seven towers are preserved. Although the enclosure walled of the city was built in time of
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
on the former Carthaginian defense, the gate corresponds to the extension made by the Sultan
Ali ibn Yusuf Ali ibn Yusuf (also known as "Ali Ben Youssef") () (born 1084 died 26 January 1143) was the 5th Almoravid emir. He reigned from 1106–1143. Biography Ali ibn Yusuf was born in 1084 in Ceuta. He was the son of Yusuf ibn T ...
in the 12th century, and its present appearance is the result of a remodeling carried out between the years 1723 and 1795, in which the Islamic architectural elements were replaced by the
classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
air which presents today. It was the gate used by the kings who visited the city of the first time, and before its walls rose an altar in that performing their quarrel tribute, after which they were handed the keys of the city,Montoto, Santiago (1991), pp. 35-37. and so did Alfonso XI of Castile (1327), Isabella I of Castile (1477), Ferdinand II of Aragon (1508), Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and his fiancee Isabella of Portugal (1526), and finally Philip IV (1624). Crowns the set the ceramic altarpiece by painter Manuel Rodríguez representing the Virgin of Hope of Macarena, inaugurated in 1923 by the infanta Maria de la Esperanza of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The remains of the walled city, which includes this gate, were declared
Bien de Interés Cultural A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" (" goods" in the economic sense) and incl ...
in 1985.


Location and toponym

The gate is located in what was the ''arrabal de la Macarena'' was the access of the walled enclosure which was further north of the city and from where started the old mule to
Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...
. Its cloth of wall joined to one side with Puerta de Carmona and to the other with the Puerta de Córdoba, being located in this last stretch the Torre Blanca. Today it is located in the calle Resolana, against the Basílica de La Macarena (built in 1941) and near the
Hospital de las Cinco Llagas The Hospital de las Cinco Llagas (literally "Hospital of the Five Wounds") in Seville, Spain is the current seat of the Parliament of Andalusia. History Construction of the building began in 1546, as a legacy of Don Fadrique Enríquez de Ribera, ...
(home of
Parliament of Andalusia The Parliament of Andalusia ( es, Parlamento de Andalucía) is the legislature of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia instituted by the Andalusian Charter of Autonomy of 1981. It is elected by the residents of Andalusia every four years. ...
), in the barrio de San Gil and District Casco Antiguo. Regarding its name, there are several theories about the origin of the Macarena word, and the historians do not agree on when setting a concrete one. The farthest proposals attributed to the word a
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
origin, being attached to the name of
Macaria Macaria or Makaria ( Greek Μακαρία) is the name of two figures from ancient Greek religion and mythology. Although they are not said to be the same and are given different fathers, they are discussed together in a single entry both in the ...
, daughter of
Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...
, founder of the city. There is also hypothesis of its
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
origin, specifically of a patrician called ''Macarius'', which would have had great properties in the area, Finally, the closest option and most common among historians is to its Arab origin, through Moor princess who lived next to the wall,Santiago Montoto, p. 35. or of a Moor of the same name, as recounted in 1587 writer Alonso Morgado in his ''Historia de Sevilla'': (written in
Medieval Spanish Old Spanish, also known as Old Castilian ( es, castellano antiguo; osp, romance castellano ), or Medieval Spanish ( es, español medieval), was originally a dialect of Vulgar Latin spoken in the former provinces of the Roman Empire that provided ...
) This Arab option seems to corroborate it the existence of ''qaryat Maqrana'' (the
alqueria An alquería (; ca-valencia, alqueria ; pt, alcaria ; from Arabic القرية ''al-qarīa'', "village, hamlet") in Al-Andalus made reference to small rural communities that were located near cities (medinas). Since the 15th century it makes r ...
of Macarena), attached to the itinerary called ''Mamarr al-Sabila'' (the way of the travelers) which consisted of the self
alqueria An alquería (; ca-valencia, alqueria ; pt, alcaria ; from Arabic القرية ''al-qarīa'', "village, hamlet") in Al-Andalus made reference to small rural communities that were located near cities (medinas). Since the 15th century it makes r ...
and a fortified tower, and was in the current Orchard de la Torrecilla, next to cemetery of San Fernando.


History


12th-15th centuries

The
walls of Seville The Walls of Seville (Spanish: ''Murallas de Sevilla'') are a series of defensive walls surrounding the Old Town of Seville. The city has been surrounded by walls since the Roman period, and they were maintained and modified throughout the subse ...
were built in the time of
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
to replace the Carthaginian stockade that existed, and expanded during the rule of his successor
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
. Later in the 12th century the Arabs carried out a major expansion that doubled the walled enclosure under the rule of Sultan
Ali ibn Yusuf Ali ibn Yusuf (also known as "Ali Ben Youssef") () (born 1084 died 26 January 1143) was the 5th Almoravid emir. He reigned from 1106–1143. Biography Ali ibn Yusuf was born in 1084 in Ceuta. He was the son of Yusuf ibn T ...
. The Puerta de la Macarena corresponds to the Almoravid period of the city, it is likely to have been created in this last extension of the set, although the historian Santiago Montoto de Sedas argues that this is, according to tradition, the only gate that remains of the built by Julius Caesar. Rodrigo Caro, citing the Etruscan discipline that says that each city to be had to have three gates of its walls dedicate to deities, argues that it arose in the time of Julius Caesar the Puerta de Goles (degeneration of
Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...
), the
Puerta del Sol The Puerta del Sol (English: "Gate of the Sun") is a public square in Madrid, one of the best known and busiest places in the city. This is the centre ('' Km 0'') of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous clo ...
(dedicated to the Sun god) and the Puerta de la Macarena, in honor of
Macaria Macaria or Makaria ( Greek Μακαρία) is the name of two figures from ancient Greek religion and mythology. Although they are not said to be the same and are given different fathers, they are discussed together in a single entry both in the ...
, daughter of Hercules. The legend has it that one night, during the siege of the city, the king
Ferdinand III of Castile Ferdinand III ( es, Fernando, link=no; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguel ...
, being in the camp set up outside the city walls, prayed to the Virgin of the Kings to ask for help, and it called by his name and told him: "you have a protective constant in my image of la Antigua, to which you want much and is in Seville", and she promised victory; then an angel made him enter the city until reach the main mosque, within which he was shown a wall which turned transparent as glass, and the king could see the image of the Virgin of la Antigua as it had been painted centuries ago. The chroniclers place the entrance of the king by the Puerta de Jerez, and boast that when the Christians learned that the monarch was in the city came to his aid Diego Lopez de Haro 7th
lord of Biscay The Lordship of Biscay ( es, Señorío de Vizcaya, Basque: ''Bizkaiko jaurerria'') was a region under feudal rule in the region of Biscay in the Iberian Peninsula between 1040 and 1876, ruled by a political figure known as the Lord of Biscay. On ...
and Rodrigo González Girón, whose camps were facing the Puerta de la Macarena, and with other six knights entered the city for her; arrived at the main mosque, they had to confront the Muslims who discovered them, but they got out of the city and check that the king was already in the camp. Subsequently, within the inheritances that
Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Ger ...
granted the two hundred knights, are many close to the gate In 1358, entered through this gate the infante Don Fadrique, parent of the lineage of Enríquez, to die deceived in the city by order of his brother
Peter of Castile Peter ( es, Pedro; 30 August 133423 March 1369), called the Cruel () or the Just (), was King of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. Peter was the last ruler of the main branch of the House of Ivrea. He was excommunicated by Pope Urban V for ...
, and in 1413 returned to his hometown fray Diego de Sevilla, who had been in the jerónimos de Guadalupe, and in following year carried out the foundation of monastery of San Jerónimo de Buenavista in an estate located outside the gate. Already during the reign of
Henry IV of Castile Henry IV of Castile ( Castilian: ''Enrique IV''; 5 January 1425 – 11 December 1474), King of Castile and León, nicknamed the Impotent, was the last of the weak late-medieval kings of Castile and León. During Henry's reign, the nobles became ...
had by the king, the gate Rodrigo de Ribera and farce of Avila caused it to be taken by the supporters of the infante Alfonso of Castile, although it was recovered by the henryquists soon after. The July 24 of 1477 Queen Isabella I of Castile came to the city riding under a canopy of crimson brocade with dyed fringes, of greater magnitude and wealth than those used by her in her royal entries to date in other cities. Arrival at the Puerta de la Macarena at ten o'clock, on a silver altar swore to respect the privileges of the city and made her triumphal entrance to it through the gate. The arch was adorned with a cloth of brocade and crimson, and the event was attended by hundreds of people, not only the civil authorities of the city, but also the church, the aljama of Jews and Muslims and common people; King Ferdinand did not accompany his wife to be absent in Aragon. The
Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bot ...
decided in 1491 that the cereal that came to the walled city from the outside, enter only through this gate and the
Puerta de Triana The Puerta de Triana was the generic name for an Almohad gate and a Christian gate rose in the same place. It was one of the gates of the walled enclosure of Seville (Andalusia). On the site previously stood a gate dating from the Almohad period t ...
and Puerta de Carmona, as picked up their rules "and that the bread thus draws out, entering the city of Seville through the puertas de Triana and de Carmona, and Macarena, and not through other gates".


16th-18th centuries

In 1508 Ferdinand II of Aragon made his entry into the city through the gate, accompanied by
Germaine of Foix Ursula Germaine of Foix (french: Ursule-Germaine de Foix; ca, Úrsula Germana de Foix; ; c. 1488 – 15 October 1536) was an early modern French noblewoman from the House of Foix. By marriage to King Ferdinand II of Aragon, she was Queen of Ar ...
, and for which were installed for the first time in Seville triumphal arches; in total were counted thirteen, that traveled in scenes the victories of the monarch His grandson the king Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor arrive on March 10 of 1526, made sworn in and made lawsuit tribute to the city at the gate, which came to it to celebrate his weddings with Isabella of Portugal. In the city seven triumphal arches were erected, to decorate the city for the lavish welcome, and the first of them stood behind this gate. It was dedicated to the caution, and over it appeared the emperor dressed in blue, a Latin inscription on the front and other in Castilian on the opposite, saying, "Honor that the Regiment and people of Seville makes to the Prudence, imperial virtue, first between all, because everyone made plain to the virtues that were with it, and showed in a short time fact what was once amazing ". The Empress entered the city the next day, the bond was held, and also made through this gate, and was accompanied under a canopy to the cathedral. When the king
Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...
will make his first and only visit to the city in 1570, without the agreement of all, it was decided that, although historically its predecessors made their triumphal entrance through this gate, is to do for the Puerta de Goles, for the inconvenience, overview and state of the adjacent streets around la Macarena, so that was the only time that a monarch made no his entry for it, and the de Goles since then it renamed Puerta Real his grandson Philip IV returned the tradition of his predecessors, and the March 1 of 1624, after spending the night in Carmona, he made his public entry into the city through the gate, across the city to the Alcazar, being the only entry that made a Spanish monarch in the city throughout the 17th century. On 5 July of the same year Luis Fernández de Córdoba Portocarrero made his entrance into the city through this gate, the newly named Archbishop of Seville. The Seville city council made purely aesthetic works in the Puerta de Jerez and in the Puerta de la Macarena, for which sent a report to the king in 1561, which responded satisfactorily, insisting in the general tidying of the same and of its surroundings So that year Pedro Hernández, overseer of the work of the Puerta de Jerez received from Pedro Milanés, a marbler, a stone for the Puerta de la Macarena, which cost 28 ducados. It was also amended the gate in 1630, when was installed a headstone on an ordinance intended to the gatekeepers, so not engaged in their duties out of it; the slab, which is preserved today embedded in the wall of the arch, says: "By provision of the King our lord of 20 September 1630 it banned to the guards not stay off the roads nor any other place to fulfill its obligation or move out of his gate, whose surveillance is subject to mister assistant, being delegated Mr. D. Diego de Ulloa. 1630". Shortly after, during the outbreak of plague that ravaged the city in 1646, six cemeteries were created in which to bury so many dead, settling one of them outside the gate. The gate must be then an object more of the popular culture of the city, as evidenced by the fact that the playwright Juan Pérez de Montalbán (1602-1638) wrote in the 17th century a comedy in two parts titled ''La puerta Macarena'', displayed in the Corral de la Cruz of
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
in 1717, and has as inspiration this gate. In 1723 underwent a renovation by order of Alonso Pérez de Saavedra y Narváez, Count of la Jarosa, being mayor of the city, and in 1795 was rebuilt by the Sevillan architect José Chamorro, eliminating the Almohad appearance and bestowing the
classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
air which currently has.González de León, Félix (1839), pp. 476-478.


19th-21st centuries

In 1836, during the invasion of
Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...
by the Carlist forces, was made a moat with drawbridge in order to strengthen the set. Possibly suffered damage during the conflict, and once completed was renovated, and it removed an altarpiece dedicated to Virgin of Sorrows that guarded inside, all prior to 1849, and was one of the gates that by then not closed at night. The July 17 of 1854 entered the city by this arc the general
Leopoldo O'Donnell Leopoldo O'Donnell y Jorris, 1st Duke of Tetuán, GE (12 January 1809 – 5 November 1867), was a Spanish general and Grandee who was Prime Minister of Spain on several occasions. Early life He was born at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canar ...
. From the revolution of 1868, it began to tear down the city walls, which work ended in 1873. This measure did not affect the walls of the Macarena, which were saved by an allegation of the Commission of Monuments on its historical value that made them different from the rest, but the city council continued with the intention to make them disappear. In 1907 began a record on the opening of roads in the section of walls between the puerta de la Macarena and the puerta de Córdoba, and on November 1 of 1908 was declared a National Monument: "Office of transfer of the Ministry of Public Instruction and Fine Arts in which it communicates Royal Order by which is declared National Monument the section of the wall covered between the puerta de la Macarena and de Córdoba". Despite this official statement, in 1909 the city council continued to maintain its idea of
ensanche means "widening" in Spanish. It is used to name the development areas of Spanish cities around the end of the 19th century, when the demographic explosion and the Industrial Revolution prompted the tearing down of the old city wall and the cons ...
and new urbanity of the neighborhood, so it made the following determination about its demolition:Pozo y Barajas, Alfonso (2003), pp. 67. The arch is strongly linked to the image of Holy Mary of la Esperanza Macarena and their confraternity through it annually at beginning and end its penitential station in
dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...
of Good Friday. On the occasion of this relationship was installed in the attic of the gate in 1922 a ceramic azulejo polychrome altarpiece representing to this image by the Alcalareñan painter Manuel Rodríguez y Pérez de Tudela. For its construction, the Confraternity of la Macarena held a popular collection, and was inaugurated on May 27 of 1923 by the infanta Maria de la Esperanza of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. During the riots of the coup of 1936, the arch suffered two gunshots, and its wall served as a firing squad, where were shot many people after the coup. Leaving aside the declaration of a national monument dictated in 1908 by the Ministry of Fine Arts, the remains of gates and city walls were declared in 1985 and
Bien de Interés Cultural A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" (" goods" in the economic sense) and incl ...
, under the category of monument. Ten years later took place the most significant step of the Confraternity of la Macarena through the gate, which occurred during the celebration of the 4th centenary of the foundation of confraternity; after a solemn pontifical officiated the September 23 by the Archbishop of Seville friar Carlos Amigo Vallejo, and attended the Infanta Maria de la Esperanza of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (who had opened 72 years before the azulejo ceramic altarpiece), along with her husband, the pretender prince of Brazil Don Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza, the Marian image held a procession extraordinary through the streets of the city, through the gate to its exit and entrance of the temple. The last reform in the gate took place in 1998 when was executed an archaeological intervention, in order to consolidate the bow of the arch, which was in poor condition. Today is popularly referred to as arch and not as gate, and represents a symbol for its neighborhood. Its association with the Confraternity of la Macarena, which Marian image of the Our Lady of la Esperanza Macarena, of universal devotion, have also contributed to popularizing the arch, in which crowd hundreds of faithful during the early hours of
Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the ...
and the morning of Good Friday to see the image cross under the arch in the celebrations of the
Holy Week in Seville Holy Week in Seville (In Spanish: ''Semana Santa de Sevilla'') is one of two biggest annual festivals in Seville, Andalusia, Spain, the other being the ''Feria de Abril'' (April Fair), which follows two weeks later. It is celebrated in the week l ...
On January 21, 2012, the Sociedad Estatal de Correos y Telégrafos issued a series concerning to arches and monumental gates, choosing among them the puerta de la Macarena.


See also

*
Walls of Seville The Walls of Seville (Spanish: ''Murallas de Sevilla'') are a series of defensive walls surrounding the Old Town of Seville. The city has been surrounded by walls since the Roman period, and they were maintained and modified throughout the subse ...


References

{{coord, 37.4028, N, 5.9892, W, source:wikidata, display=title City gates in Spain Buildings and structures in Seville Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century Buildings and structures completed in 1795