Archbishop's Palace

Archbishop's Palace (Palacio Arzobispal de Sevilla) stands on Plaza Virgen de los Reyes, right next to Seville Cathedral, in the heart of the Santa Cruz quarter. It remains an active archbishop's residence and one of the oldest continuously used ecclesiastical buildings in the city.

Where did the palace come from?

After Christian forces took Seville in the 13th century, King Ferdinand III granted the bishop the houses standing on this site. The new seat rose on the foundations of earlier Almohad structures, which had themselves been built over the remains of Roman baths — several layers of the city's history sit beneath today's palace.

As early as December 1262, Bishop Remondo enlarged the property by buying up neighbouring houses. Another expansion followed around 1347, under Archbishop Nuño de Fuentes. In the early 16th century, between 1505 and 1523, Archbishop Diego de Deza carried out substantial renovation work that reshaped the interior layout.

When did the houses become a palace?

Turning the earlier cluster of houses into a proper palace is credited to architect Vermondo Resta, working under Archbishop Rodrigo de Castro. The most significant rebuilding, however, came in the 17th century, when the rooms were organised around two main courtyards and a monumental staircase was added.

The façade visitors see today from the square was built by Lorenzo Fernández de Iglesias between 1703 and 1705. Around the same time, the staircase was decorated with paintings by Juan Espinal — still the most striking feature of the interior.

What happened here during the Napoleonic occupation?

During the brief French occupation of Seville, the palace changed function: it housed the Army's General Command, and Marshal Soult made it his residence along with his staff officers. That episode remains a distinctive chapter in the building's history, a moment when an ecclesiastical seat served military purposes.

Why is the palace a protected monument?

In 1969 the building was declared a Monumento Histórico-Artístico, Spain's equivalent of a listed historic monument. The designation recognised the palace as a record of successive architectural periods — medieval, Renaissance and Baroque — layered into a single structure.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the Archbishop's Palace located? On Plaza Virgen de los Reyes, directly beside Seville Cathedral, in the Santa Cruz district.

Is it still the archbishop's residence? Yes, the building still serves as the archbishop's residence, just as it did when it was first granted.

How far back does its history go? More than seven and a half centuries, from Ferdinand III's 13th-century grant through the 17th- and 18th-century rebuilding, though the foundations reach back further still, to Almohad and Roman times.

What's worth looking at from the outside? The Baroque main façade built between 1703 and 1705 by Lorenzo Fernández de Iglesias, facing Plaza Virgen de los Reyes.

Does the palace have a Napoleonic-era connection? Yes — during the French occupation it served as the seat of the Army's General Command and as Marshal Soult's residence.