An open doorway looking onto a plaza behind Sevilla's stunning La Giralda Cathedral.
Most readers know that I am smitten by Sevilla. I like it so much, I wrote a poem about it. In my Paris apartment, I had a "Spanish wall." I collect antique Spanish tiles and pottery, as well as Madonna crowns, silver crosses and milagros. I'm fond of dry Spanish fino and tapas. I'm mad about flamenco and Spanish guitar.
Since first visiting the city in 2004, I have been back several times, including an extended stay in 2006 to study Spanish. Last summer I spent two weeks working on a photo essay in Sevilla (these images are all from July 2010). Later this year, I'll be returning to Sevilla to collaborate on a project with a Spanish photographer. I'd be there now, if it weren't for the scorching summer temperatures!
The plaza behind La Giralda de Sevilla, the city's largest cathedral.
The beautiful 15th-century Casa de los Pinelos.
La Casa de los Pinelos is the site of the Academia de las Buenas Letras y Academia de Bellas Artes.
Tiled stairs leading to the second floor, which was closed the last time I was there.
A series of arches cover the pathway to Plaza del Calbido, built in the Moorish style. In this photograph, shutters are closed during afternoon siesta, in a bid to combat the intense summer heat.
On Sunday mornings, vendors participate in a small market selling vintage stamps, posters, books, photographs, military medals, antique coins and other items.
Private apartments, a restaurant, bookshop and antiques store are all part of the complex.
A series of arches at a convent courtyard adjacent to Plaza del Cabildo.
A decorative iron gate leads to a private courtyard.
Palms and plants flourish in this stone-paved courtyard.
Another private courtyard behind an iron gate.
A gated patio at Reales Alcázares de Sevilla.
This arched doorway with decorative wrought-iron Islamic symbols exits into a lush garden, complete with fountain.
Iron gates opening to more palace patios.
The palace's exterior walls were designed by the Almohads, Berbers from the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The walls stem from the complex's original use as a Moorish fort.
One of the arched entrances to the palace. This stone wall dates from when construction began in the year 913.
A workman repairs a fountain in a shaded courtyard framed by a series of arches at Reales Alcázares de Sevilla. Most of the palace's stunning architecture is a combination of designs from the Taifa and the Almohad periods.
A stone walkway is laid in decorative patterns.
Check back soon for more architectural wonders from Sevilla.
