The capital of this province is a seductive city with many attractive
monuments of which the Cathedral/Mosque is the largest one of its kind
in Europe. It comprises a lavish mosque in which a cathedral of Gothic,
Baroque and Plateresque elements has been built. It is a fascinating building
which offers surpirsing light and colour effects as well as beautiful
doors and nearly a thousand columns.
Córdoba is a city which must be seen on foot so that as we wander
through the narrow streets we can peep into the shady patios where dozens
of potted plants and the most colorful, scented flowers engulf us with
their sweet aroma. In the old Jewish quarter we can admire the one-time
Sinagogue, and not very far away the Gate of Almódova and the Alcázar
of the Christians Kings which has beautiful gardens and is also where
you can admire Caliph baths and pointed vaults. The Roman mosaics remind
us of a Roman temple which lie next to the town hall.
With the conquest in the 13th Century Cordoba began to be filled with
churches which, in general, show the transition from Romanesque to Gothic
style and some of them still conserve remains of the primitive Arabic
constructions. Santa María, San Miguel, San Lorenzo, San Pablo,
La Magdalena, San Nicolás de la Villa: these are the "fernandina"
churches which define the art of the many differtent quarters of Córdoba.
However, like all self- respecting Andalusian cities, there are many Baroque
features such as the superb Palace of La Merced which is today the Provincial
Council head-quarters.
The river runs through Córdoba with the inner city area on one
side and on the other the Campo de la Verdad and monuments such as the
Tower of La Calahorra. Córdoba's squares are another vital element
of the city and vary from the solid, red-brick Corredera, which in times
gone by was the escene for bullfighting, to the naked beauty of Capuchinos
with its Cristo de los Faroles. We then move on to the delightful Renaissance
Square of the Potro with a fountain and buildings in which the Fine Arts
Museum and the Museum of Julio Romero de Torres can be found. There are,
in fact, several more museums in the city including the Archaeological
Museum and the Museum of Bullfighting.
Among the civil buildings the old Hospital of San Sebastián, now
a conference centre, must not be forgotten. There is also the Palace of
Viana which includes no less than eleven patios and a garden, all of which
are outstanding, even ina city as reach in patios and formal gardens as
is Córdoba. Córdoba, a university city, is well-linked by
road and rail, has a good range of recently renovated hotels and also
a rich varied calendar which offers many attractions to the visitor all
the year.
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