San Isidoro & Plaza de la Alfalfa
Why is it significant?
In this tight knot of lanes, the church of San Isidoro rises almost without warning: brick walls, a Gothic doorway and a tower peering over the rooftops. You can easily pass it by, which is a pity, because it is dedicated to the most brilliant mind Seville ever produced.
Key Facts
| Place | San Isidoro & Plaza de la Alfalfa |
|---|---|
| Address | Calle Luchana 3, 41004 Sevilla, Spain |
| Geo Coordinates | 37.38950, -5.99080 |
| Part of Walk | From Baroque Domes to Las Setas: Seville's Architecture Between Sierpes and Casa de Pilatos |
| Generated | Generated |
In this tight knot of lanes, the church of San Isidoro rises almost without warning: brick walls, a Gothic doorway and a tower peering over the rooftops. You can easily pass it by, which is a pity, because it is dedicated to the most brilliant mind Seville ever produced.
Isidore was bishop of Seville in the early seventh century, the younger brother of Bishop Leander. He wrote the Etymologies, a vast encyclopaedia that tried to gather everything known about the world, from grammar and medicine to animals, ships and stones. For nearly a thousand years, monks across Europe copied it, and much of what medieval scholars knew about antiquity reached them through his pages. He also wrote a history of the Goths and presided over church councils that shaped Visigothic Spain.
So it is perhaps not surprising that, in our own time, Isidore has been proposed as the patron saint of the internet... unofficially, it must be said. A man who tried to put all human knowledge into one place would probably have understood search engines very well.
The building itself is a fine example of the Gothic-Mudéjar parish churches raised after 1248, much altered over the centuries. Inside, over the high altar, hangs a celebrated painting by Juan de Roelas from 1613, showing the death of Saint Isidore, surrounded by clergy in a scene so crowded and alive that you can almost hear the murmur of prayers.
Now step into the Plaza de la Alfalfa, just to the north. Its name recalls the fodder once sold here, and archaeologists believe this area lay close to the heart of Roman Hispalis. Today it is one of the liveliest squares in the old town, full of tapas bars and young Sevillians at night. From the Alfalfa, take Calle Águilas eastwards; at its end, a great ducal palace is waiting behind a marble gate.