Spain Trip #48: Seville, Spain's Santelmo Palace and Tobacco Factory

Our tour group on a Walking tour of Seville

In today's Spain Trip blog, we'll show you 2 more major attractions in the city of Seville, San Telmo Palace and the historic Tobacco Factory. You'll find out what the historic significance of these places are and why you should see them!

SAN TELMO PALACE ORIGIN - Andalucia.com said that Palacio San Telmo was built in 1682. Palacio San Telmo was originally built as the Colegio Seminario de la Universidad de Mareantes, a home for orphaned children of sailors. Then it served as a marine academy, training ships' pilots, navigators and high-ranking officers - it is actually named after San Telmo (Saint Elmo), the patron saint of navigators! It's located between the Hotel Alfonso XIII and the river.

Palacio San Telmo

THE PALACE OVER TIME - In 1901 the palace became a seminary again, this time for priests, also taking in wounded soldiers during the war with Morocco. It underwent several structural changes, which damaged the design and proportions. In 1952 it was badly damaged by a fire, and the palace fell into disrepair, neglected for years, until it was taken over by the Junta in 1989. The building underwent a 10 year refurbishment that finished in 2010 with a price tag of 40 million euros!

THE PALACE TODAY - Today the building is the presidential headquarters of the Junta de Andalucia (the regional government). The Junta President received the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall here on their visit to Seville in April 2011. (For the complete history, visit: http://www.andalucia.com/cities/seville/sttelmo.htm)

Palacio San Telmo

LIMITED VISITORS - Palacio San Telmo is open to visitors by guided tour only; call to check days and times, and make an appointment. Tel: 955 001 010

Old Tobacco Factory

WHAT IS THE TOBACCO FACTORY? The factory, located on Calle (Street) San Fernando, was Europe's most important tobacco factory, producing around 75% of the cigarettes consumed in Europe! It's 18th-century industrial architecture and takes up an entire city block. When it was constructed, this was the second-largest building at the time. Before the factory, however, tobacco merchants were established in the city from the 16th century. This was Europe's first tobacco factory.

OPERA REFERENCE - The factory's other claim to fame is that the opera Carmen by Bizet was set here, based on a novella by French writer Prosper Merimee. The main character, Carmen - a gypsy woman who worked in the factory - fell in love with one of the soldiers guarding the building.

Tobacco Factory tile sign in a wall 

WHO MADE THE LINK OF TOBACCO AND SEVILLE? Tobacco was one of the first plants Christopher Columbus discovered on his arrival in the New World, and he brought it back to Seville. The city enjoyed a lucrative royal monopoly on tobacco trade for centuries afterwards.

WHO IS IN THE ARCH OF THE FACTORY? In the Tobacco Factory, you can see depictions in stone of Columbus - as well as the conquistador Hernan Cortes, supposedly Europe's first smoker - on the entrance arch of the factory.

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