The Torre del Oro is one of the most popular monuments in Seville. It is located on one of the banks of the Guadalquivir and measures 36 meters high. It was built in the 13th century as a defensive tower, from which a thick chain extended to the other bank of the river to prevent enemy ships from passing through.
The official Andalusian Tourism website states that it currently houses a small naval museum with two floors that can be visited and a panoramic terrace. Previously, the building was used as a chapel, nobles’ prison, gunpowder warehouse, offices of the Port Captaincy and Naval Command.
The name of the Torre del Oro has been associated with different legends, but the reality is that it comes from the shine that its exterior shows when sunlight hits it, especially at sunset. After restoration work in 2005, it was discovered that its golden tone is due to a mixture of lime mortar and straw that covered it.
This dismantled the myth that the Torre del Oro was called that because it would have been covered with tiles that reflected the sun’s rays. The historian Pedro López de Ayala, who lived in the 14th and 15th centuries, wrote that King Pedro I of Castile kept treasures of gold and silver coins in the tower. It was also said that the place housed gold from America, since it was a defense point located near the port.
The Torre del Oro is an albarrana tower that has three sections. The first, with 12 sides, was built by the Almohads in the 13th century. The second is also dodecagonal and was built by Pedro I in the mid-14th century. The third, cylindrical and topped with a dome, was added in the 18th century.
