Maria Luisa Park

1986

The Maria Luisa Park is formed in part by the gardens of the San Telmo Palace, donated in 1893 to the town of Seville by the Infanta Maria Luisa (Duchess of Montpensier) which were incorporated into the urban heritage in 1911. In 1893 the Queen's Sewing Box and a metal structure greenhouse were built. In 1910, the park was chosen as the main location for the future Spanish-American Exhibition that would take place in 1929.

In January 1911, work began on the renovation of the park for the event, choosing Aníbal González as manager of the architectural part of the exhibition and Jean-Claude Nicolás Forestier, a French landscape architect, for the gardening work.

The works were carried out between 1912 and 1922. The landscaper transformed what were palatial gardens into a public park adapted to the climate and landscape of the town, providing it with a romantic touch inspired by the gardens of the Generalife and the Alhambra or those of the Real Alcázar in Seville. The Roundabout of Lotuses, the Lion Garden and the Frog Fountain date from this period.

The first phase was inaugurated on 18 April 1914, and the construction of the Plaza de España began this year. Three buildings were built in the Plaza de América for the Ibero-American Exhibition: the Mudejar Pavilion, the Royal Pavilion and the Fine Arts Pavilion.

Until the opening of the 1929 Exhibition, different roundabouts with literary and cultural reminiscences were also built, such as Glorieta de Bécquer (1911), Glorieta de Cervantes (1916), Glorieta de Masy Prat (1924) and Glorieta Hermanos Álvarez Quintero (1925-26), which would be continued in later years.

Labels

Gardens

Park

1929 Ibero-American Exhibition

Aníbal González

Forestier

Roundabout