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Cenador del León at the Real Alcázar

cenador leon real alcazar sevilla

Cenador del León at the Real Alcázar in Sevilla.

The Real Alcázar, or Alcazars in reference to the set of palaces that compose it, is not only the place where the history of Seville can be traced through architecture and art but a landscape wonder. Its gardens are a delight for the senses, as well as a natural labyrinth full of hidden spaces. Among them, we find the Cenador del León.

The royal palace has been subject to continuous reforms throughout its history, in some cases erasing some of its own heritage. Since the summer of 2017, Alcazar visitors have been able to admire a space recovered from the 17th century, which is named after a limestone fountain in the shape of a lion. Water from the Caños de Carmona flowed through this figure to an old tank pond starting in. When the Islamic gardens were transformed into Renaissance gardens, these irrigation instruments also became more lustrous and transcended their mere functionality.

The area’s artistic change took place when Count Duque de Olivares was warden of the Real Alcázar. In fact, a vast many changes were made during this time. And the Lion’s Garden (also known as the New Garden) was the last to receive a makeover. Two arbors where added where a pool and a ferris wheel once stood. In this place two arcades appeared where before there was a pool and a Ferris wheel.

The gazebo was decorated by Benito Valladares and restored by Francisco Valladares barely thirty years later. Together with the paintings of Juan de Medina, the Cenador del León represents a remarkable example of the late Spanish mannerism that we can relive in the 21st century.