Plaza de Santa Cruz

You are in the heart of the Santa Cruz quarter, Seville's old Jewish quarter. This peaceful square hides a story of demolition, loss and a missing painter.

1From synagogue to square

After the Castilian conquest of 1248, Seville's Jews settled in this district. In 1391 a violent attack on the Jewish quarter destroyed much of the community, and its synagogues were turned into churches. One of them stood on this spot and became the parish church of Santa Cruz.

2Murillo, without a grave

In 1682 the painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, who lived in the neighbourhood, was buried in that church. During the French occupation, around 1810, the church was pulled down to open up a square, and the painter's remains were lost. A plaque from 1858 marks where his grave once was.

Murillo painted for half of Seville, yet no one knows where he rests today.

Murillo actually lived very close by, and the streets around the square, such as Santa Teresa or the Callejón del Agua, keep the winding layout of the old Jewish quarter. The square's present look was designed by Juan Talavera in 1918, part of the improvements that readied the district for the 1929 Exposition.

3What to look for

• The Cruz de la Cerrajería, a wrought-iron masterpiece by Sebastián Conde (1692), which once stood on Calle Sierpes and arrived here in 1921.
• Murillo's plaque, a reminder of his lost grave.
• The orange trees and tiled benches, typical of the quarter.