THE PLAZA D'ESPANA
SEVILLE, SPAIN
IMAGE NUMBER 697a
The Plaza de España ("Spain Square", in English) is a plaza in Maria Luisa Park in Seville built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. It mixes elements of the Renaissance Revival and Moorish Revival styles of Spanish architecture. It was built to showcase Spain's industry and technology exhibits. The Plaza de España complex is a huge half-circle with buildings continually running around the edge accessible over the moat by numerous bridges representing the four ancient kingdoms of Spain. In the centre is the Vicente Traver fountain. By the walls of the Plaza are many tiled alcoves, each representing a different province of Spain.
The Plaza de España has been used as a filming location, including scenes for the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia. The building was used as a location in the Star Wars movie series Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) — in which it featured in exterior shots of the City of Theed on the Planet Naboo. It also featured in the 2012 film The Dictator. Since it is a twentieth century reproduction of a highly imagined past, the building is regarded as a "confection" by serious architects, but its scale, vision and craftsmanship are impressive to anyone who visits. Atticus found it hard to leave.
TECHNICAL NOTES
The image was taken with a tripod-mounted Phase One 645 Camera at ISO 200. Exposure of 1/13th of a second and an aperture of f22. 45 mm Phase One wide angle lens with focal plane shutter. The image was captured on a Phase One IQ180 80 megapixel digital back. The image has been cropped and straightened using Capture One.