It is the most important civil building in the Sevillian baroque style.
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It was founded by the University of Mariners as a nautical school for navigators sailing to the Indies and is the most important civil building in the Sevillian baroque style. Started in 1681, its construction was not completed until 1796. The main façade, the central courtyard, and the church were designed by Leonardo de Figueroa. The main doorway is a display of baroque splendour. Elaborate columns flank the entrance, over which stand Indian-looking atlantes, (in allusion to the Route of the Indies), supporting the magnificent balcony, on which, flanked by Saints Fernando and Hermenegildo, is the statue of San Telmo who is holding a boat and navigational charts. |
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In 1849, San Telmo became the residence of the Duke and Duchess of Montpensier, Antonio de Orleans, son of Luis Felipe of France, and Princess María Luisa, Isabel II's sister. During this time, the palace, known as the "small court", became a centre of social life of a city which in the second half of the 19th century, was mainly provincial and agrarian. The Montpensiers' daughter, María de las Mercedes, was the protagonist of a tragic romantic episode when she married king Alfonso XII (1857-1885) but died unexpectedly only five months after the wedding. In 1893 Princess María Luisa donated part of the gardens to the city and they were transformed in a beautiful park bearing her name. Upon her death in 1897, the Princess bequeathed the palace to the Archdiocese of Seville which used it as a seminary. In 1989 the building was adapted by Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra to be used as the residence of the president of the Andalusian Regional Government. |