Setas de Sevilla and the Antiquarium

In front of you is one of Seville's most modern sights: a vast wooden lattice that locals promptly nicknamed «las Setas», the mushrooms. The walk starts here because, odd as it may seem, this is one of the best places to glimpse the city's oldest layer.

1A plot with a long memory

In the 19th century this square held the Encarnación market, partly demolished in 1948 and torn down completely in 1973. For years the plot stood empty. When the city tried to dig an underground car park, the excavations uncovered something that halted the works: streets, houses and mosaics of Roman Hispalis, along with homes from the Moorish period.

2A competition and a giant parasol

In 2004 the city council launched an international competition to redesign the square. Out of 65 entries, the winner was Berlin architect Jürgen Mayer: a laminated-timber structure about 150 by 70 metres that shades the square, shelters the ruins and climbs to a walkway above the rooftops. It opened on 27 March 2011, and in 2013 the popular nickname became the official brand: Setas de Sevilla.

Below, the Roman city; in the middle, the neighbourhood market; on top, 21st-century Seville.

The remains can be visited in the Antiquarium, the museum on the lower level. Walking through it, you understand that Seville has always grown on top of itself, layer upon layer.

3What to look for

• The trunks of the structure: notice how they rest on the square without touching the excavated remains.
• The Antiquarium's glass panels, through which you can make out Roman floors from above.
• The market under the parasol, heir to the old Encarnación market.