Ruta de la Plata

Many different cultures have been present in the history of Sevilla. Throughout the centuries, their legacy has shaped its cultural, monumental and artistic heritage, which may be admired in the citys streets and museums. Obscure origins have given rise to legends which attribute the founding of Sevilla to Hercules. Phoenician tribes from the other side of the Mediterranean brought about the mythic Tartessian culture, a product of assimilation by the native population of the influences received from those Eastern people.

In the Roman era, Ceasar granted the still-small Hispalis the title of Colonia Iulia Romula, thus conferring full Roman citizenship upon those ancient Sevillians.

The prolonged presence of the Moslems between 712 and 1248 endowed the city with its most universal symbol, a minaret which, after being topped off with a weathervane, would come to be known as La Giralda.

As a Castillian city, it played a fundamental role in the discovery and colonization of America, as well as in the trade between the two continents. Its relationship with the New Continent was to last a long time: in the 18th century, the city collected together all the documentation referring to the New World; in 1929, it was seat to the Latin-American Exposition; and, in 1992, it hosted the Expo, which commemorated the V Centenary of the Discovery of America and also decidedly contributed to the profound modernization of Sevilla.