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Official
web site of Palacio de la Condesa de
Lebrija - Has a lot of information,
includes a niffty virtual visit of the
top floor (a place I wasn't allowed to
photograph).
Located at C/Cuna,8 (No. 8 Cuna Street)
Seville is a stop on the
Al-Andalus train tour - a classic, luxury
train tour of southern Spain
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The
Central Patio contains a Roman mosaic
with the center containing an image of
the Roman God Pam.
The only
place I know of in Spain where you can
walk on real Roman mosaics.
This palace
dates back to the 1400's A.D., but
it was completely rebuilt in the
1500's.
The mosaic floors were not placed
here by the Romans but by the
Countess of Lebrija (Da Regla
Manjon Mergelina). Around 1900,
about the same time the countess
decided it was time to redo the
family palace; the Roman City of Italica
was discovered. |
The
Octagonal Room, (eight-sided room)
- the Italica mosaic here,
installed in 1901, was the first
to be placed in the palace. |
With an interest in archaeology, the
countess made adjustments to some rooms
of the palace in order to fit in a few of
the newly discovered Italica mosaics.
The palace is part house and part
museum. Tiles from abandoned convents adorn
some rooms; chests of artifacts dominate
others. If I understood the guide
correctly, except for maintenance
renovation, the house has been left (including
furnishings) in the state the countess
left it.
Closer
view of the Central Patio mosaic.
There are two floors to the palace. The
airy ground floor was used during the
summer, while the top floor would have
been where the countess lived during the
winter. Today, an extra fee is charged
for a tour of the top floor.
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