Santiponce Itálica

Heritage

An immense legacy waiting to be discovered

Buhaira Palace and its Gardens

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The origins of these gardens go back to the reign of Al-Mutamid, famous monarch of the Taifa kingdom of Seville, and their name comes from the lagoon that was located there, "al-buhayra", where he would place a series of recreational gardens that later on and under the mandate of Abu Yacub Yusuf would be extended with thousands of olive trees, vineyards, fruit trees and palm trees. In the following centuries the area would go from this period of splendour to a state of total ruin and would not be reforested until the 16th century.

After a second period of decadence, it reappears at the end of the 19th century, when the last remains of the Muslim palace were destroyed and the existing regionalist building inside was built. However, the urban harassment during the last century was pressing, until the decision of the local authorities to recover its historical use allowed a somewhat unusual design in the town's surroundings. The gardens were definitively inaugurated in 1999, and work was also undertaken to enhance the remaining Islamic remains and to add Muslim-style gardens. 

However, the original plot, due to the need to open the avenue named after it to communicate two major communication roads of the town, Eduardo Dato and Ramón y Cajal, was divided in two, forcing the separation of the gardens into two different areas between which the newly opened street goes through.

The gardens are thus arranged in two areas. On the one hand, there is the Palace Garden, belonging to an order that combines organic with geometric elements, and a second area of the gardens, known as the Garden of History.

This complex, which has been declared a Site of Cultural Interest, contains the ruins of the Buhaira Palace, the swimming pool, the entrance to the Almenas (battlements), the San Agustín gate, the Calle Nueva and the Tejaroz entrance.

Today it is a civic centre where the summer nights are held in the Buhaira Palace, which are a cycle of theatrical and lyrical performances that takes place in July.

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