SEVILLA CATHEDRAL

It's the largest Gothic cathedral and the third largest church in the world, after St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London, and yes, another UNESCO World Heritage Site.  I think I spent more time here than I have in any other church, mostly because of the excellent audio program that provided much more detail than is ordinarily available on the self-guided tours.

The immensity of this cathedral, outside and inside, is breathtaking.  Here's an aerial view to give you a sense of this.  You can see how easy it would be to spend three or four hours touring it.

It was over 100 years in construction, from 1402 to 1506 and it was meant to communicate the wealth of Sevilla to the rest of the world.  This was when Sevilla was a major trading center in the years after the Reconquest.

You feel immediately dwarfed when you enter this massive structure.

This church has 80 chapels!  Here are peeks at just a few.....because they were gated, I could only capture little sections through the bars.

The stained glass windows vibrate with brilliant colors.

There was a tomb of some bishop in almost every chapel.

But the real surprise for me was discovering the tomb of Christopher Columbus.

I had no idea that he was buried here in Sevilla.

This silver altarpiece was pretty impressive.

But this small Madonna and Child was a piece that was heart touching.

Another surprise was a Goya painting.

This is a section of the exquisite altarpiece in one of the larger chapels.  

The detail work on carved moldings was just amazing.

Giralda Tower is the bell tower of the cathedral, and you can climb to the top, if you are so inclined, to enjoy spectacular views of the city.  Did I or didn't I?

I guess I could have snitched the picture above from the Internet, but I didn't!  What convinced me to give the climb a shot was the fact that there were 34 ramps and only one flight of stairs to climb.  I'm now an avid advocate for ramps.  The climb was much easier.  And the views were definitely worth it.

After my lofty view, I relaxed for a bit in the lovely courtyard beside the church, which was graced by orange trees.

I keep thinking that i've seen enough chruches and cathedrals, but they are really works of art and I'm never disappointed afterward.