Office Pavilion, Seville Cathedral

The history of the Office Pavilion dates back to the beginning of the 18th century, when there were a series of houses located in the southwest corner of the cathedral, corresponding to rental units, barns and other warehouses. The precariousness of the structures made the Cabildo propose to build an annex building according to the category of the Gothic factory; the new work would be aligned with the existing one in that corner of the building.

It was around 1770 and as a consequence of the dilapidated state of that sector that the works began, shortly after being paralyzed due to lack of economic resources. In the 19th century and after Seville was designated as the venue for the Ibero-American exhibition, the final push was made, both ideologically and economically, to finish the work. New projects are presented, abandoning the idea of ​​building a second floor as originally intended; the facade is reformed and its proportions are varied applying the idea of ​​Francisco Javier Luque, concluding the works in 1928.

The cleaning of the elevation shows an interior enclosure arranged in a stacked space, configuring a series of rooms erecting brick walls. These pillars with deep foundations, are made with mortar and the enormous proportion they have, including the arches, suggests that the second floor was never carried out.

The concluded by affirming that the construction of the Pavilion meant the implantation of a new organization of the sector, by demolishing the wall and the structures attached to it, not only to maintain the presence of the cathedral dependencies begun in the Gothic period, but because, and continuing today, Another great exhibition and organizational room was arranged for the cathedral space in question.

Seville cathedral treasure
The treasure of the cathedral of Seville is considered one of the best preserved artistic treasures in the ecclesiastical environment of Spain. Its funds are comparable to those collected in the National Library and El Escorial.

It is composed of pieces of all sizes and materials (gold, silver, pearl, rhinestones, velvet, etc.), among them are sacred vessels, reliquaries, custodians, processional crosses, books, choir books (approximately 300), ornaments and dresses for the liturgy (approximately 2000) in addition to all works of art (approximately 550 paintings dated between the 15th and 20th centuries, signed by Pedro de Campaña, Francisco Pacheco, Francisco Herrera, Zurbarán, Murillo, Valdés Leal, Matías de Arteaga, among others), sculptures (exterior and interior, some sepulchral in marble, wood or alabaster) and altarpieces (dated between the XV and XVIII centuries), etc., distributed among the different chapels of which the Cathedral is composed.

Of the treasure, the elements that are related to the conquest of the city by King San Fernando stand out, such as his sword, the banner and other relics, as well as the keys to the city. The Alphonse tables are also preserved, made by King Alfonso X the Wise.

Other pieces correspond to dates after the discovery of America and linked to this new world, such as a paten (used in the first mass celebrated in Mexico), the silver vizarrones (huge candelabra that hold candles).

Among the large items, a bronze candelabra (Tenebrario) stands over seven meters high and the Custody of Corpus Christi, made of silver, dating from the 16th century.

Most of the pieces are exposed in the room known as the “House of Accounts” of the cathedral, although another good part is found in the “Sacristía Mayor” and in the “Sacristía de los Cálices”. However, other pieces of it are found in other spaces of the temple, such as the ” Royal Chapel ” and the “Greater Chapel”.

Seville Cathedral
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See is located in Seville. It is Gothic in style. It is the largest cathedral in the world. The Unesco declared in 1987, with the Real Alcázar and the Archivo de Indias, Heritage and, on July 25, 2010, Good of outstanding universal value. According to tradition, the construction began in 1401, although there is no documentary evidence of the beginning of the works until 1433. The construction was carried out on the site that was left after the demolition of the old aljama mosque in Seville, whose minaret (La Giralda) and patio (patio de los Naranjos) are still preserved.

One of the first masters of works was Master Carlin (Charles Galter), from Normandy (France), who had previously worked in other great European Gothic cathedrals and arrived in Spain believed to be fleeing the Hundred Years War. On October 10, 1506, the last stone was placed in the highest part of the dome, with which symbolically the cathedral was completed, although in fact work continued uninterruptedly throughout the centuries, both for the interior decoration, such as to add new rooms or to consolidate and restore the damage caused by the passage of time, or extraordinary circumstances, among which it is worth noting the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 that produced only minor damage despite its intensity. The architects Diego de Riaño, Martín de Gainza and Asensio de Maeda intervened in these works. Also at this stageHernán Ruiz built the last body of the Giralda. The cathedral and its outbuildings were completed in 1593.

The Metropolitan Cabildo maintains the daily liturgy and the celebration of the Corpus, Immaculate and Virgin of the Kings festivities. This last day, August 15, is also the titular festival of the temple, Santa María de la Asunción or de la Sede, and is celebrated with a solemn third and pontifical procession.

The temple houses the mortal remains of Christopher Columbus and several kings of Castile: Pedro I el Cruel, Fernando III el Santo and his son, Alfonso X el Sabio.

One of the last important works carried out took place in 2008 and consisted of replacing 576 ashlars that made up one of the great pillars that support the temple, with new stone blocks of similar characteristics but with much greater resistance. This difficult work was possible thanks to the use of innovative technological systems that showed that the building suffered oscillations of 2 cm daily as a consequence of the expansion of its materials.