From the Plaza de España, we had to walk a little way to our next objective, the Barrio Santa Cruz, and that gave us a chance to see a little of Maria Luisa Park and its environs.
In addition to the Plaza de España pavilion, a number of other buildings were constructed, some of them to house the exhibits of other countries participating in the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929; these were turned into consulates after the fair closed. Others were repurposed as government offices, museums, etc. One of the latter category was a striking building housing the Parks and Gardens Bureau of the Ayuntamiento (Municipal Government) of Seville. Another was a tourist information kiosk, the Punto de Información Turística Costurero de la Reina, on the Paseo de las Delicias. It is a castle styled building located next to a traffic roundabout containing a monument to Juan Sebastian Elcano, final commander of the first expedition to circumnavigate the earth. (Ferdinand Magellan, the original commander of the expedition, had been killed in the Philippines; only eighteen members of the original expedition made it back to Spain.)
In the Gardens of Catalina de Ribera, near the entrance to the Barrio Santa Cruz, we encountered a monument to Christopher Columbus. Columbus has had a bad press in the Americas in recent years, because of his oppression of Native Americans as well as his underlings, but he still enjoys considerable stature in Spain. The structure we saw seemed to be as much or more a monument to Ferdinand and Isabella, the monarchs who sponsored Columbus’ voyages, as to Columbus himself. It is 23 meters (75 feet) high and consists of a base and two columns, with a pedestal on top. On the pedestal stands a lion, presumably symbolizing the monarchy. Halfway up the columns are the bows of two caravels; on the sides, between the columns, are plaques with the monarchs’ names, one each for Ferdinand and Isabel. On one side of the base of the monument is a medallion with a bust of Columbus; on the other side is the coat of arms of the monarchs’ coat of arms.
A short distance away from the Columbus Monument we came across a venerable old oak tree which must have been growing for hundreds of years. Both Sandie and I couldn’t resist taking multiple pictures of it.
