The Parque de María Luisa (María Luisa Park) is a public park that stretches along the

Guadalquivir River The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from the Gul ...

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 Penins ...

, Spain. It is Seville's principal green area.

History

Most of the grounds that were used for the park were formerly the gardens of the

Palace of San Telmo The Palace of San Telmo ( es, Palacio de San Telmo) is a historical edifice in Seville, southern Spain, formerly the ''Universidad de Mareantes'' (a university for navigators), now is the seat of the presidency of the Andalusian Autonomous Governm ...

. They were donated to the city of Seville in 1893 by the

Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...

, for use as a public park. Starting in 1911, Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier redesigned the gardens into their present shapes. In 1914 the architect Aníbal Gonzalez began construction for the

Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 The Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 (Spanish: ''Exposición iberoamericana de 1929'') was a world's fair held in Seville, Spain, from 9 May 1929 until 21 June 1930. Countries in attendance of the exposition included: Portugal, the United Stat ...

, which was held partly within the park. The new buildings of the Plaza de España, a semi-circle on a plaza, were used as the offices of the fair. They have been used as settings for filmed scenes, including in ''

Lawrence of Arabia Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...

'' (1962).

Layout

In preparation for the exhibition, the entire southern end of the city was redeveloped into an expanse of gardens and grand boulevards. The centre of it is ''Parque de María Luisa'', a 'Moorish paradisical style' with a half mile of tiled fountains, pavilions, walls, ponds, benches, and exhedras. There are lush plantings of palms, orange trees, Mediterranean pines, and stylized flower beds with bowers hidden by vines. The park serves as a botanical garden. Many plant species, native or exotic, are represented, along with educational panels to inform the visitors to the park. Many birds make their home in the park, which is known for its large population of doves (for which a part of the ''Plaza de América'' is called the ''Parque de las Palomas'', or Dove Park). There are also many parakeets living in the centre of the park, and ducks and swans in the fountains and lakes.

Monuments

The park is home to many monuments and to numerous ponds and fountains. Among the most famous are the Fountain of Lions (''Fuente de los Leones'') and the Water-lily Pool (''Estanque de los Lotos'').

Monument to Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

The monument to

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer Gustavo Adolfo Claudio Domínguez Bastida (17 February 1836 – 22 December 1870), better known as Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (), was a Spanish Romantic poet and writer (mostly short stories), also a playwright, literary columnist, and talented ...

is located in the north of the park, along the Avenida de Gustavo Adolfo Becquer. It was constructed in 1911 by Lorenzo Coullaut-Valera, in collaboration with the architect Juan Talavera Heredia and Catalan sculptor Federico Bechini. The monument consists of an octagonal base, surrounding a tree, which is built on a pedestal, the bust of the poet. To his right is Cupid as a child throwing arrows at three young women. To the left of the bust is Cupid as an adult, stabbed and dying. The two angels are in bronze, the rest of the work is in marble white. This scene is inspired by Becquer's poetry collection ''Rimas''.

Monument to la Raza

Monument to Miguel de Cervantes

The monument to

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best kno ...

is located on the Plaza de America, near the Royal Pavilion. It was created in 1913 by the architect responsible for the Ibero-American Exposition, Aníbal González, in collaboration with Manuel Ramos Rejano and Eduardo Muñoz. The monument is a polygonal space decorated with tiles depicting scenes from the works of Cervantes. Two statuettes, representing

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

on his horse and

Sancho Panza Sancho Panza () is a fictional character in the novel ''Don Quixote'' written by Spanish author Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in 1605. Sancho acts as squire to Don Quixote and provides comments throughout the novel, known as ''sanchismos'', ...

on his donkey, were found here for a long time. They have now disappeared.

The Fountain of the Lions

The Fountain of the Lions (''Fuente de los Leones''), based on a concept by the park designer Jean Claude Nicolas Forestier, was sculpted by Manuel Delgado Brackembury in 1913. It consists of four stone lions, each carrying a shield, placed on four of the eight sides of the octagonal fountain into which they spit water. The fountain is decorated with tiles from the workshop of Ramos Rejano. The lions were installed in 1928. Badly damaged by vandals, in 1957 they were replaced by copies made by the Sevillian sculptor Juan Abascal Fuentes. The fountain was restored in 1992.

Buildings

The Plaza de España was a principal building built on the park's edge to showcase Spain's industry and technology exhibits in 1929, being built over a period of 19 years. It happened to be that the US stock market crashed when the complex was being completed. The complex is a huge half-circle with buildings continually running around the edge accessible over the moat by numerous beautiful bridges. In the centre is a large fountain. By the walls of the plaza are many tiled alcoves, each representing a different province of Spain. Today, the plaza buildings are mainly used for government offices. The Queen's sewing box (''Costurero de la Reina'') was built in 1893 in the gardens of the Palace of San Telmo, as a retreat. It is a unique building that takes the form of a small hexagonal castle with turrets at the corners. It is the oldest building in Seville in the

Neo-Mudéjar Neo-Mudéjar is a type of Moorish Revival architecture practised in the Iberian Peninsula and to a far lesser extent in Ibero-America. This architectural movement emerged as a revival of Mudéjar style. It was an architectural trend of the late ...

style. Numerous other buildings were constructed in and around the park for the exhibition in a mix of 1920's

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

and mock Mudejar. Some of them were extravagant in their decor, built just before the Wall Street crash. The Guatemala building, off the Paseo de la Palmera, is an example of this elaborate style. The largest mansions from the fair, near the south end of the park, now serve as museums, including the

Archeological Museum of Seville The Archeological Museum of Seville (Spanish: ''Museo Arqueológico de Sevilla'') is a museum in Seville, southern Spain, housed in the ''Pabellón del Renacimiento'', one of the pavilions designed by the architect Aníbal González. These pavili ...

. Some of the original buildings have been replaced by more modern structures. For example, the

Seville Public Library The Seville Public Library (''Biblioteca Pública del Estado - Biblioteca Provincial Infanta Elena de Sevilla'') is a public library located in Seville, Spain. The library was founded in 1959 and occupied two different buildings before moving to ...

was inaugurated in 1999 by the

Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo (Elena María Isabel Dominica de Silos de Borbón y de Grecia; born 20 December 1963) is the first child and eldest daughter of Juan Carlos I (King of Spain from 1975 to 2014) and Queen Sofía of Spain, and third ...

. It was nominated for the

Mies van der Rohe Award for European Architecture The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award is a prize given biennially by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona, 'to acknowledge and reward quality architectural production in E ...

in 2001. Beside the modern library is the Science Center (''Casa de la Ciencia Seville''), housed in the original Pavilion of Peru. Adjoining the Science Center is the Teatro Lope de Vega, a small baroque-style theatre that was also built for the exhibition.

Gallery

File:Serafín Alvarez Quintero.jpg, Portrait of Serafín Álvarez Quintero File:Isleta de los patos pml 2022001.jpg, Pavilion of King

Alfonso XII of Spain Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as El Pacificador or the Peacemaker, was King of Spain from 29 December 1874 to his death in 1885 ...

, remains of the gardens of the

File:SevillaFuenteDeLasRanas01.JPG, Fuente de las Ranas (Fountain of the frogs) File:Sevilla - Plaza de América - Palomas - 20070519-14.jpg, Plaza de América File:Pavillon royal Séville.JPG, Pavilion Real, in the Plaza América. File:Infanta mª luisa fernanda sevilla enrique perez comendador.jpg, Bronze statue of the princess Luisa Fernanda by Enrique Pérez Comendador File:SevillaGlorietaDeBecquer04.JPG, Gloriette to Bécquer

References

External links

{{Authority control Parks in Spain Seville World's fair sites in Seville Azulejos in buildings in Andalusia Tourist attractions in Seville Protected areas of Andalusia