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King Ferdinand III of Castilla, the Saint, delivered the city of Sevilla from the Moors on November 19, 1248.

"Let us build a cathedral so immense that everyone, on beholding it, will take us for madmen", the chapter is said to have declared. Sevilla's cathedral is the third largest in Europe after St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London.

The late Gothic cathedral shows Renaissance influence. The main portals are modern. However, the Puerta de la Natividad (Nativity Doorway) and the Puerta del Bautismo (Baptism Doorway), right and left of the west door, include beautiful sculptures by Mercadente de Bretana (c. 1460). Miguel Perrin (1520) used Renaissance perspective fully in the Renaissance tympana of the Puerta de los Palos and Puerta de las Campinillas (east end doorways).

The metal statue in front of the Puerta de San Cristobal is the original which adorned the top of the spire of the 343-ft La Giralda tower on the northeast corner of the cathedral. It was removed and replaced with a replica in 1997.

Seville is a stronghold for bullfighting. The Maestranza Plaza de Toros is prominently located along the Canal de Alfonso XIII of the Guadalquivir River in the heart of Spain's fourth largest city.

Seville is a stronghold for bullfighting. The Maestranza Plaza de Toros is prominently located along the Canal de Alfonso XIII of the Guadalquivir River in the heart of Spain's fourth largest city.

Seville is a stronghold for bullfighting. This statue of a bullfighter is located in the beautiful park in front of the Maestranza Plaza de Toros that runs along the Canal de Alfonso XIII of the Guadalquivir River in the heart of Spain's fourth largest city.