Casa consistorial de Sevilla

Plateresque façade of the Seville City Hall.

The Casa consistorial de Sevilla is a Plateresque-style building in Seville, Spain, currently home of the city's government (Spanish: ayuntamiento).

The building has a large façade divided into five modules, decorated by Plateresque reliefs; these include grotesque motifs inspired by Italian Florentine architecture, heraldry symbols, allegories of Justice and Good Government and depictions of mythological or historical characters such as Hercules, Julius Caesar and Charles V.

History

In 1526, the marriage in Seville of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (Charles I of Spain) and his cousin Isabella of Portugal occasioned the construction of a building for the city government that would represent the power and importance of the city at that time.

Principal façade of the Seville City Hall to the Plaza Nueva.

Until then, the council, or cabildo, of Seville had its seat in some houses of the Corral de los Olmos, a location now occupied by the Plaza de la Virgen de los Reyes, behind the Cathedral of Seville. The new building was to be built at the Plaza de San Francisco, central to the city and its commercial district, behind the eponymous convent and in front of the Audiencia (judicial court).

The building was designed by architect Diego de Riaño, who supervised its construction from 1527 until his death in 1534. He was succeeded by Juan Sánchez, who built the arcade which now connects the building with the Plaza Nueva, and later on by Hernán Ruiz the Younger.

References

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Coordinates: 37°23′19″N 5°59′40″W / 37.3887°N 5.9945°W / 37.3887; -5.9945

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