Torre de la Plata - Seville

The octagonal Torre de la Plata was built in the 13th century by the Almohads and was part of the walls that surrounded the city of Seville.

It was the end of the perimeter wall and was connected by a wall to the Torre del Oro (Golden Tower). When King Ferdinand III came to power, the tower was given the name Torre de la Victoria, although it remained colloquially called Torre de la Plata (Silver Tower).

In the 16th century the defensive function of the wall was lost and it served as support for houses , shops and warehouses. This meant that the Torre de la Plata itself became less and less important in the city.

Until recently it was used as a residence and its silhouette was hidden between the adjacent buildings, between which only the battlements and little else could be seen. The tower was partially restored in 1992 and both the tower and the immediate surroundings are currently being renovated.

It is an octagonal tower with irregular sides where two rooms were known to have existed: one on the ground floor and above that a main floor with an exit to the upper roof, enclosed by a crenellated parapet. However, restoration work has uncovered a lower space that served as a water reservoir.

The lower floor is covered with an early Gothic rib vault, arranged in eight elements bearing the same number of ribs and starting from simple pilasters with equally simple imposts, all of which converge in a polygonal keystone.

Willem Vandenameele