TRIANA NEIGHBORHOOD IN SEVILLE

The activities related to navigation would have a very important take off from 1492. With the discovery of America, Seville became the Port of the Indies, the focus from which all overseas merchandise left and arrived. And the position of Triana would soon give him a prominent role in all related activities, being also the seedbed from which many of the sailors who marched to America in the different fleets would come.

For this purpose, the so-called University of Navigators was founded in the middle of the 16th century, which had its headquarters where today the Casa de las Columnas is located on Pureza Street. It was dedicated to the training of all those trades related to navigation, trying to respond to the growing demand for workers for these jobs that occurred as a result of the expansion in America. It was based in Triana until it was moved to the Palacio de San Telmo at the beginning of the 18th century.

In the engravings that exist since this time, it is common to see numerous boats stranded in the area of ​​what is now Betis street, where they were subjected to repairs and conditioned for use. It should be remembered that the nucleus of the Port of Seville was found during the 16th and 17th centuries in the area that went from the Torre del Oro to the Barcas bridge.

The prominent role of the Triana suburb in American business is reflected in such symbolic events as the fact that it was from this neighborhood that the first Westerner to see land on the other side of the Atlantic. The famous Rodrigo de Triana, who today gives its name to one of the most emblematic streets of the neighborhood. In addition, from the disappeared dock of the Mulas, next to the current Plaza de Cuba, the expedition led by Magellan left in 1519, which would be the first to complete a round the world tour. And the few survivors would reach that same point three years later, led by Juan Sebastián Elcano. From there they went barefoot and carrying candles to appear before the Virgen de la Victoria, who was worshiped in a convent that was located near Santa, in thanksgiving. Before starting their trip, they had entrusted themselves to the Virgin, in the solemn ceremony of handing over the flags before this same image. Even today we can contemplate in a chapel of Santa Ana a majestic carving of the Virgen de la Victoria, from this now-disappeared convent.

With the economic boom derived from overseas trade, other areas of Triana would also grow. We have news, for example, of a settlement that was located at the end of Castilla Street, approximately between the current Plaza de Chapina and Ronda de Triana. It was called the Portugalete neighborhood, because apparently most of its inhabitants were originally from Portugal and had come to Seville in search of opportunities given the economic strength of the city. Many slaves or former black slaves also resided there, mainly from the Algarve, where they would have arrived after being captured in Africa. It seems that it was an extremely humble and quite conflictive area for much of its history, until, as in the case of San Sebastián that we have spoken of, the personality of this settlement was diluted in the whole of Triana.

Starting in the 16th century, some industries settled in the neighborhood experienced enormous growth and now had a much wider market for their products. Especially important were the Reales Almonas, large soap installations of Almohad origin that were located on the section of Calle Castilla closest to the castle. It was a very profitable industry for more than three centuries, and its products were exported not only to the American territories but to several European countries, where “Seville soap” or “Triana soap” achieved fame for its quality. In the 19th century, the Almonas were divided into smaller farms, within the framework of a decline that would make them disappear completely from the neighborhood already at the beginning of the 20th.

During this period, the structure of the neighborhood that essentially has survived to this day in its oldest area would be consolidated: San Jacinto Street, originally called Santo Domingo, running from the bridge towards Aljarafe, as the main entrance and exit of goods and people from this region. On both sides, and parallel to the river, Calle Castilla to the north and Calle Larga de Santa Anta to the south, today called Calle Pureza. Perpendicular to them, and with a somewhat more rectilinear layout than in the old town of Seville, other streets appeared that crossed the neighborhood to La Cava, the current Pagés del Corro, which was the border of the neighborhood for much of its history.

In these main streets, the most important cult centers were erected. On Castilla Street, next to the Almonas, the church of Nuestra Señora de la O began to be built at the end of the 17th century, whose origin was in the chapel of a hospital dedicated to Santa Brígida, which was located in the same area. already from the XV century. The temple that has come down to us, which would become a parish together with Santa Ana, is a beautiful example of the 18th century Sevillian Baroque, one of the architectural jewels of the neighborhood.

In that same century, the monumental church of San Jacinto was built, at the confluence of the street of the same name with La Cava. It was originally a convent church of the Dominicans, an order that continues to govern the current parish. It was built following the plans of the architect Matías de Figueroa, replacing a previous one that collapsed.

Therefore, Triana lived through years of enormous demographic growth, which was mainly concentrated in the sixteenth and first half of the seventeenth centuries, completing the urbanization of the space between the cellar and the river, with the layout of the streets that basically have survived to this day, until it became the most densely populated neighborhood in the city.

Although the neighborhood always had a predominantly popular character, of working people with trades linked to the river, the fertile plain or industries such as pottery, the truth is that as a result of this development, certain more affluent families of the city began to settle in the neighborhood. Either because they had their businesses in the area or because with the growth of Seville, Triana began to be a better considered area and not so far from the center through the Puente de Barcas. This seems to be indicated by some of the few buildings preserved from this period, such as the so-called “Quemá” house, at number 72, Pureza street, an interesting example of a palace house with a magnificent Mannerist façade dating from the late 16th or early 17th century. . In the same street, but already from the 18th century, the Casa de las Columnas is located, in the place that occupied the first headquarters of the University of Mareantes. Its main façade, towards the church of Santa Ana, is a magnificent example of the Sevillian civil baroque. At present, the building is municipally owned and houses a Civic Center with a library and other public facilities.

However, in Triana as in the rest of Seville, the period of splendor that had arrived after the discovery of America would not last long and the expansion model would soon begin to show signs of exhaustion and crisis. In the case of Triana, the great floods had a devastating and very frequent influence, which periodically flooded a large part of the neighborhood and forced continuous repairs and reconstruction.

Added to this were the continuous epidemics of different diseases that severely affected the city in these centuries. You have to think that when Seville became the Port of the Indies it began to be populated very densely. which made it an especially favorable scenario for the spread of contagious diseases. Especially cruel was the so-called Great Plague of Seville, in 1649. It was an epidemic of bubonic plague that especially affected the most humble and populated areas, as was the case of Triana. The number of victims is not known with certainty, but most estimates indicate that between 40 and 60 percent of the population died. It is difficult to even imagine what it must have been like for Seville to lose half its population in a few months. In all the families someone was missing and many disappeared completely. The psychological impact of such an episode would be tremendous, and the economic one can only be described as catastrophic.

A decisive factor of decline would be added to the floods and epidemics. Navigating the Guadalquivir River to Seville became increasingly difficult. The river was filling up and the boats had more and more draft, so that the maneuvers to get to the port of the city were more and more expensive. This caused that since 1680 the ships coming from America could dock both in Seville and in Cádiz. The loss of the status of Puerto de Indias became final in 1717 with the transfer of the Casa de Contratación to the capital of Cadiz.

Trying to compensate somewhat for this loss, the Crown decided to establish the Royal Tobacco Factory in Seville shortly after. Although it is not located in Triana, it is worth mentioning here because we know that many of its workers resided in this neighborhood, faithful to the popular and working-class character of most of its population throughout its history.

If there is a great architectural milestone that marks the history of Triana in the 19th century, it is the construction of the Isabel II bridge, to the point that the new work became a fundamental icon of the neighborhood and even today its most widespread nickname is simply that of the Triana bridge. It came to replace the famous Barcas bridge, the only one that existed on the Guadalquivir in Seville for more than seven centuries. It is clear that the bridge that lasted until the 19th century was not the same one that the Muslims built in the Middle Ages. Its construction was very unstable and the periodic floods of the river made it subject to constant repairs and replacements.

Finally, between 1845 and 1852, the construction of the new one was undertaken, following the model of the Pont du Carrousel in Paris, resulting in a beautiful metal bridge, the oldest in this material preserved in Spain.

Also in this century, the so-called neighborhood corrals became popular in Triana, as one of the most common forms of housing for the working classes. They consisted of rooms for different families that were opened around a large patio, in the center of which there used to be a fountain or water well. They were characterized by combining certain rooms for the private use of each family, with other spaces and services that were for community use, such as the large patio, the laundry rooms, the latrines and, sometimes, also the kitchens. It is a typically Sevillian form of housing that also implied a very intense way of relating to neighbors, with a great sense of community. Triana was the neighborhood with the most neighborhood pens in all of Seville, reaching 67 at the beginning of the 20th. Even today we can see examples some magnificently restored examples in various points of streets such as Castilla, Alfarería or Pagés del Corro.

At this same time there was a new impulse to the manufacture of ceramics, especially after the Carlos Pickman ceramics factory settled in the nearby monastery of La Cartuja, dedicated to the manufacture of earthenware pieces, soon reaching production very intense and of great quality.

In Triana, other ceramic factories were created later, which were greatly driven by the architectural trends of the early 20th century. The regionalist style made much use of ceramic elements in the decoration of new buildings, both internally and externally, and signs for shops with tiles made of this material also became fashionable. Thus, some of the most illustrious firms of Triana ceramics settled in the heart of the neighborhood, especially in Alfarería street and its surroundings, some of whose headquarters have come down to us, forming a fundamental part of the neighborhood’s heritage. These are buildings in whose decoration the owners wanted to make clear the quality of the product that was offered, in such a way that they are splendidly decorated with ceramics, becoming true ceramic samples or catalogs. This is the case, for example, in Santa Isabel on Calle San Jorge, in Montalván on Calle Alfarería, or in Mensaque on Calle San Jacinto.

The impetus for this ceramic industry would be even greater with the celebration of the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 and all its preparatory works. It was necessary to intensify the ceramic production to decorate not only the pavilions of the different countries but many of the new buildings that were erected within the framework of the profound urban renewal that Seville experienced in the framework of this event.

Many of the workers in charge of setting up Seville for the great exhibition, many times emigrated from other parts of Andalusia and Spain, ended up settling their residences in Triana, many times built by themselves. This is how neighborhoods such as Voluntad, Barrio de León or Turuñuelo were born. Around this time, the construction of the Los Remedios neighborhood also began, although in a more organized way and focused on residents with greater purchasing power. In the development of the neighborhood, the construction of the San Telmo bridge in 1931 would have a fundamental role, which gave the area an absolutely privileged location with respect to the city center. In a more organized and focused way for more affluent classes.

The dramatic episode of the Civil War also passed through Triana in a tragic way. Although the rebels in 1936 soon took control of Seville, there were some neighborhoods like Triana that presented fierce resistance and had to be taken to arms. Before that moment, there were disorders and violent acts in the neighborhood, especially with an anti-clerical sense, as happened in the church of the O, which was attacked, suffering enormous damage to its artistic heritage. Furthermore, on the same July 18, a group took Luis Mensaque, the owner of the emblematic ceramic factory, who had identified himself as a member of the phalanx, from his house and murdered in the middle of the street.

Facts like this may have made the takeover of the neighborhood, which occurred only a few days later, especially bloody. Franco’s troops took Triana on July 21, entering from three fronts at the same time: by the San Telmo bridge, by the Isabel II bridge and by the Agua footbridge, where today the Cachorro bridge is. Many houses that were considered to house resistance were attacked and robbed, causing a large number of deaths that was increased by the executions of the following days. ·

In the first years of the dictatorship, the construction of the San Gonzalo neighborhood was undertaken in Triana, which in fact was drawn up before the end of the war, in 1937, destined in part to give residence to ex-combatants who had been mutilated. It was devised in a style that reproduces an Andalusian town in an idealized way, with its landscaped square and its neo-baroque church in the center.

In 1943, an attempt was made to give a boost to the industrial character of Triana, placing the “Hispano Aviación” aircraft factory on Calle San Jacinto, whose façade and some of its structures can still be seen today, attached to the Protectorate for Children building. , built in an interesting eclectic style around 1915 by Antonio Arévalo Martínez. The HA 200 “Saeta” model aircraft, the first jet manufactured in Spain, made its first flight in 1955 from this factory.

A few decades later, in the 50s, the huge neighborhood of Tardón was built right next to the nucleus of San Gonzalo of which we have spoken, with 2,000 houses destined to give way to the growth of the population of Triana, produced mainly by the growing migrations from the countryside to the city, a phenomenon that had been taking place to one degree or another since the 19th century, but which was greatly accentuated in these decades.

But in addition to the demographic growth caused by emigration to the city from rural areas, there was a parallel phenomenon that made it necessary to build all these large peripheral neighborhoods. It was the fact that the central areas, both in Seville and in Triana itself, lost population density. The Francoist authorities encouraged the disappearance of the neighborhood corrals and demolished many humble houses, trying to make the urban center consist of fewer but higher quality houses, focused on a more affluent population. It was the time when many people were forced to abandon their original neighborhoods and settle in these newly created areas.

Especially intense was the dispersion to which the Roma population of Triana was forced. The first testimonies of the presence of this ethnic group in the neighborhood date back to the 16th century and have always formed a fundamental part of its idiosyncrasy. They settled mainly in the so-called Cava de los Gitanos, that is, in the section of Pagés del Corro between San Jacinto and Plaza de Cuba, but in general Triana was a neighborhood in which the gypsy community was integrated with the rest of the population and the spaces of sociability were to a large extent common. In fact, the gypsy contribution is essential to understand some of the fundamental characteristics of Triana, such as the important role of the neighborhood in the history of flamenco.

With the redevelopment of this area, Roma families were pushed to reside in newly created neighborhoods, especially those that make up the South Polygon of the city, with an absolutely regrettable balance in social and economic terms, since huge pockets were created poverty and marginalization in the city, which persist to this day as some of the most depressed urban areas in Spain.

Towards the end of the century, the celebration of the 1992 Universal Exposition was a fundamental urban transformation factor for Seville and specifically for Triana. It should be remembered that the event was held on the island of La Cartuja, on land that is part of the Triana district. For its preparation, a whole series of infrastructure improvement works were undertaken and the river regained prominence, recovering a large part of its original route, which had been drained to the north of the neighborhood as a clear measure to stop the floods.

From then on, it would return to the San Jerónimo neighborhood, as it does today, and faced with this new situation, five bridges were built, magnificent engineering works, each in its own way. In Triana, the Cristo de la Expiración or “Cachorro” bridge was built. Inspired by the shape of the Alexander III bridge in Paris, he made use of the latest engineering advances to cover the entire width of the river with a double arch that supports a platform of more than 200 meters, without any supporting element in the river.

In addition, various urban developments were carried out in the neighborhood aimed at beautifying some of its spaces and completely redevelop others. At this time the ring road known as Ronda de Triana was drawn, and it was built with new constructions, especially its section closest to the Expo site. Although the neighborhood is a space in continuous evolution and transformation, we can say that it was at this time that it basically reached the physiognomy that has survived to this day.

The rich history of Triana, of which we have barely outlined some aspects, has gradually formed a rich cultural heritage, which is proudly defended by the inhabitants of a neighborhood that is well worth visiting.

Starting with the most obvious, we could mention some of its main monumental landmarks. From its medieval origins the magnificent church of Santa Ana, the “cathedral” of Triana, has come down to us, a display of the first Sevillian Mudejar Gothic style, which houses some of the most precious artistic treasures of the city.

It would be the only church in Triana for four centuries, until between 1697 and 1702 the construction of the church of Nuestra Señora de la O began, replacing a previous chapel, whose small dimensions made it insufficient. From the same century, although later, is the monumental church of San Jacinto and the church of the Convent of Consolation, which is also in Pagés del Corro. Both are the only remains of the numerous churches linked to convents and monasteries that Triana had in its day and which gradually disappeared as the neighborhood expanded.

Although we have already said that it was demolished, the foundations of the Castillo de San Jorge can still be visited today, located in an interpretation center next to the Triana market. Your visit provides information on the history of the castle, highlighting the period in which it was the seat of the Inquisition and inviting reflection on tolerance.

Nearby there is another interesting interpretation center, the Triana Ceramic Center, the result of the rehabilitation for museum purposes of the old Santa Ana ceramic factory. By preserving part of its original facilities, it offers a valuable testimony about the process of elaboration of ceramic products, in addition to having an interesting collection of pieces with which it is possible to get an idea of ​​the different styles and techniques that have been used throughout history. An essential place if you want to delve into Triana’s prolific relationship with clay work, of which we have spoken on several occasions.

As a result of this relationship, some of the headquarters of the main ceramic factories have been preserved, which are in turn magnificent examples of regionalist architecture from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Although unfortunately no active workshop remains, some of its exhibition venues have been rehabilitated with other uses, such as the magnificent “Casa Montalván”, the work of the architect Antonio Talavera y Heredia, which currently houses a hotel. The father of this architect, Juan Talavera de la Vega, built the “Casa de los Mensaque” on Calle San Jacinto a few years earlier, a magnificent catalog of Triana ceramics that is currently the headquarters of municipal offices.

And it is that in this period between the last decades of the XIX and the first decades of the XX, a good part of the buildings that have come down to us were built in the most distinguished streets of the neighborhood, such as Pureza, San Jacinto or Castilla. Among them, some of the jewels of Sevillian regionalism stand out, such as the delicious Carmen Chapel that welcomes the neighborhood next to the bridge. It is a work by Aníbal González, probably the most famous architect in the history of the city, author of many of his masterpieces of regionalism and historicism.

Of these styles, beautiful testimonies have survived in Triana, such as the old Casa de Socorro, on Calle San Jacinto, or the magnificent group of buildings that we find around the Plaza del Altozano.

You cannot talk about art in the neighborhood without referring to flamenco. Triana has been the cradle and seat of many artists, both dance and cante and toque, since the first news of this style in the 18th century. The gypsy population of the neighborhood played a leading role in the development of the genre, as in the rest of Andalusia, and prominent figures such as Ramón el Ollero, Antonio and Manuel Cagancho, Los Pelaos or Francisco la Perla came out of Triana in the century. XIX. The tradition continued strongly in the 20th century, with artists such as Matilde Coral, Paco Taranto, Manuela Carrasco and Angelita Vargas. According to experts, the Triana contribution is essential to understand the evolution and variations of some styles such as seguiriyas, soleares, tonás, tangos and bulerías.

Probably derived from the celebrity of Triana in the world of flamenco, the neighborhood has also been the birthplace of some of the most prominent figures of the copla, such as Marife de Triana or Isabel Pantoja.

Without leaving the religious terrain, it is impossible to draw general lines about Triana without even mentioning its brotherhoods. As in the rest of Seville, in Triana Holy Week is lived in a very intense way, not only on spring days when the steps go out, but the brotherhoods are a fundamental part of the life of the neighborhood during all year. It has five brotherhoods that make a penance station in the cathedral, some of which are among those with more brothers in Seville.

The best known both inside and outside the city is undoubtedly Esperanza de Triana. Its owner is a beautiful image of uncertain origins, very reformed in the 19th and 20th centuries, which has become the main devotion of the neighborhood and one of the most outstanding in Seville. He receives worship in the Sailors’ Chapel (Capilla de los Marineros), a small temple on Pureza street, also very renovated in the 20th century, where he shares headquarters with the co-owner of his brotherhood, the Christ of the Three Falls (Cristo de las Tres Caídas), a moving image of the 17th century attributed to Marcos Cabrera.

Very close to the church of San Jacinto, on the street of the same name, the brotherhood of the Star has its headquarters. The name comes from the invocation of its painful owner, the Virgin of the Star (Virgen de la Estrella), a magnificent 17th century carving attributed to Luisa Roldán. The delicacy of her features and the exciting expressiveness of her face make her one of the most admired by Sevillians. The co-owner of his brotherhood, Nuestro Padre Jesús de las Penas, is an image of the Lord sitting on a rock in an attitude of directing a prayer to heaven, moments before being crucified. It was sculpted in the same century by José de Arce, probably being the main masterpiece in this artist’s career.

In the Church of the O, of which we have spoken, the brotherhood of the same name has its headquarters. Its two headlines are Nuestra Señora de la O and a Jesús Nazareno made around 1685 by Pedro Roldán, one of the most prominent and prolific sculptors of the Sevillian Baroque. In the same street, although much further from the center of the neighborhood, is the brotherhood of the “Cachorro”. The headline of it is a crucified that shows Jesus inhaling the last breath of his life, a work carved in 1682 by Francisco Ruíz Gijón, who made here one of the masterpieces of all Baroque imagery in Spain. El Cachorro is a magnificent work in which the great artistic achievements of the Baroque are combined in a beautiful way. He is accompanied on his processional exit by the Virgen del Patrocinio, a 20th-century image of Luis Álvarez Duarte, who processes in a magnificent canopy step, which is said to be one of the most successful of Holy Week in Seville.

In San Gonzalo the brotherhood of the same name is located, the youngest of Triana, which has as its holders Jesus of the Sovereign Power and the Virgin of Health (Jesús del Soberano Poder and Virgen de la Salud). Both are works by Luis Ortega Bru, one of the best imaginers among those who worked for Holy Week in Seville in the 20th century. It is probably the one that shows a more personal style and away from neo-baroque canons.

Outside the scope of Holy Week, it is also worth mentioning the Brotherhood of Rocío de Triana (Hermandad del Rocío de Triana), which has its headquarters in a neo-baroque church on Evangelista street. It was founded in 1813, so it is older than Seville itself, which did not make its first path from El Salvador until 1951, more than a century later. The devotion to the Virgen del Rocío is deeply rooted in the neighborhood and the departure of the brotherhood to its sanctuary in Doñana is one of the main events in the festive calendar of Triana.