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The city of Seville
- Learning Spanish in Seville
Reasons to study Spanish in Sevilla
THE CITY
- Population: over 700,000.
- Location: Southwest of Spain.
- Capital of the Andalusia region.
- Seville has an extremely rich history dating back over 2,500 years, but it is also a modern city.
- The city has an international airport.
- Seville has a Mediterranean climate. Winters are mild and summers are quite hot.
- But don't worry, the school building provides air-conditioning.
CULTURAL/RECREATIONAL:
- Seville has a rich mixture of its history and modernity that will add value to your Spanish course. Much of its history is still reflected in the city monuments (e.g. the Cathedral, the Giralda, the Alcázar, the Torre del Oro and the famous Barrio de Santa Cruz quarter).
- If you would like to discover the popular customs of this region, you should visit Seville in the spring. The two most important festivities of this city take place within two weeks: Semana Santa (Easter Holy Week), with its world-famous processions, and Spain's most famous Flamenco event, Feria de Abril.
- It is the world centre for bullfighting and flamenco music.
- The "good life" is another tradition of the Sevillanos that they like to maintain, as you will see from the many terraces, bars and restaurants that guarantee a thrilling and entertaining nightlife. Seville has one of the highest concentrations of bars in Spain!
- Seville has an international airport making for good communication between other Spanish cities and the rest of the world. Furthermore, it only takes 2 1/2 hours to reach Madrid (the capital of Spain) with the AVE, the high-speed trains.
History at a glance
Seville is located in the south-east of Spain. A provincial capital, seat of the government and parliament of the Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía (Regional Government), it has more than 700,000 inhabitants, nearly half the population of the whole province.
The city of Seville is located on the plain of the Guadalquivir River, which crosses the city from north to south. The river can be navigated from Seville all the way to its outlet near Sanlúcar de Barrameda, on the Atlantic coast. In the past, Seville´s port played an important role in trading between Spain and the Americas; it remains today one of the most active river ports of the Iberian Peninsula.
The Tartessians were the original founders of Hispalis. Next to this settlement, in 207 B.C., the Romans built Itálica, which was the centre of their Western Mediterranean dominions for seven centuries until the Roman Empire was overrun by Northern barbarians at the beginning of the 10th century. The long Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula, from 711 A.D. to 1248 A.D., left indelible traces in Seville as in all of Al-Andalus (what is the Andalusian region nowadays). La Giralda, the tower of an important mosque, is the most famous of the remaining Islamic monuments. Seville played an important role in the 1492 discovery and conquest of America. The 17th century was a period of artistic splendour in Seville with painters such as Velázquez, Murillo and Valdés Leal, and sculptors like Martínez Montañés being born in Seville; all left behind important works of art. The city also took on a key role in the literary world with the city being the birthplace of the mythical Don Juan. Two events in the 20th century put Seville in the world spotlight: 1) in 1929, when it hosted the Latin American Exhibition that left essential urban improvements in Seville, 2) and again in 1992 World Expo 92, which reinforced the image of Seville as a dynamic, vibrant and modern city.
 Puente de la Barqueta |
 The cathedraL and La Giralda |
One more thing: you shouldn´t miss out on Seville´s tapas. With more than a thousand bars where the choice of food is virtually unlimited, from seafood to ham and sausage, from vegetables to cheese, Seville is credited with their invention. The Sevillians actually make a meal of tapas trying one dish at a time by moving from bar to bar.
Fiestas and celebrations in Seville
In 'Semana Santa' (March - April) lots of people move throughout the region. The 'Cofradías' (religious fraternities) and thousands of Sevillians parade in penitence through the city streets. During the Holy Week, people visit sanctuaries and attend the different masses. A multitudinous and public catechism is performed in the streets around the sacred images of the brotherhoods or “cofradías”, whose 'pasos' (floats) display Jesus Christ´s distinct stages of his Passion, Death and Resurrection.
'La Feria de abril' or April´s Fair as indicated takes place in April. Just after 'Semana Santa', Sevillians start preparing this fair. There are thousands of individual 'casetas' (tents) decorated with paper flowers, lanterns, photographs, light bulbs, mirrors, lamps, paintings and other ornaments competing to obtain an award for the nicest tent.. It is an unforgettable sight if you manage to get involved!
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