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Ferdinand Magellan's carrack, Nao Victoria was the first ship to successfully circumnavigate the world. It was the only vessel of five that sailed from Seville on August 10, 1519 that completed a voyage to the Moluccas Islands and then across the uncharted waters of the Indian Ocean and back to Spain. This is a replica built in 1992 moored along the Guadalquivir River.
Housing government offices, the Plaza de Espana, with its mixture of Baroque Revival, Renaissance Revival and Moorish Revival styles of Spanish architecture looks like a relic of the imperial wealth of the distant past but, in fact, it was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. The plaza is adorned with ponds, bridges and fountains with scenes from Spanish history (including the landing of Carthaginian General Hamilcar Barca with his son Hannibal at Alicante, the transfer of power from feudal lords to the city of Cadiz and and the conquest of Almeria by Ferdinand and Isabella) decorating the foundation walls.
Las Setas or "The Mushrooms" of Seville, designed by German architect Jurgen Mayer, claims to be the largest wooden structure in the world, consisting of 3500 cubic metres of laminated Finnish pine. Construction began in 2005 but, with engineering complications and enormous cost overruns, was only completed in 2011.
Built on the site of an old market in La Encarnacion square, the structure offers good views of the old quarter of Seville. Underground there is a display Roman and Moorish remains discovered on site. At street level there is a market. Above there is an open-air public event space. The top two levels consist of panoramic terraces.
These terraces on the sprawling 150 by 70 metre stucture with its elevation of approximately 85 metres are popular locations for viewing the sunset over the city and the illuminated wooden structure.
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