This morning we had Mass at 8:30. “Don Quixote” thought we could make our 9:00 rooftop cathedral tour, but sure enough “el estudiante” was right in thinking that Mass would not just be a thirty minute daily Mass. We dismissed ourselves early to get to the meeting destination on time, which happened to be the other entry door to the cathedral.
The tour involved climbing small spiral staircases to get to restricted areas. The roof had more than three levels. As we ascended our first flight of stairs, the tour guide, Laura, explained that unlike Notre Dame de Paris, this cathedral was made of only stone: no wood in the roof. Therefore the roof was flat and not at risk of catching fire. It was built this way because there is no need to keep snow off the roof because it doesn’t snow in Spain. Another thing the tour explained was the stone balls sitting on the roof: 
Although they look stuck in place, they are actually just lids to holes in the ceiling. They actually had many uses but some have been discontinued. The main use was to hold lamps for light but that is not necessary anymore because of electricity. The second use was to drop flower petals through them on special holidays such as Pentecost to symbolize the Holy Spirit. This tradition has been lost to time at this cathedral but is still used in other countries. The final use is to ventilate and remove smoke which is still used today! Here you can see the underside of the holes:
As we went up a level, we could see the bell tower which will be touched on in another post.
Finally we saw the back of the altar and the rose window:
Afterwards we went to the top of the roof where we could see that a crew were cleaning the stone. As you can see in these photos the stone needed a lot of cleaning:
As we said goodbye, one of the people in our tour pointed to a building in the distance. Our tour guide explained that it was hotel that is universally hated by the people of Sevilla because before 2010, when it was built, the bell tower that is part of the cathedral was the highest point in Sevilla. 
Overall a fun experience and great history lesson! Afterwards we were able to finish another Mass that ended at the perfect time for us to continue where we left off.
Nice blog post about Seville! I would also be mad about that hotel being built taller than the cathedral
ReplyDeleteThat’s not only a great post but a great summary of what turned out to be a busy start to the day. I will only add that these tours are not for the faint of heart. I lost track of the number of stairs and the number of stories (at least 35) we had to climb. And all of that against the backdrop of a day warming up to over 100 degrees! But the views were worth it, as well as the educational experience!
ReplyDeleteAlso, as regards the Mass, we were “interrupted” at the prayers of the faithful in order to join our tour. Then, an hour and a half later, when our tour ended, the guide told us to remain inside in order not to disturb the ongoing Mass (which began after ours). So we picked up essentially where we left off! 😂. Call it a Mass in Two parts. 😀
That's so cool how they used to drop flower petals down! I wish they still did that. Also, I'm curious why the roof would need to be wood to account for the snow? Is it because it's easier to have a slanted roof made of wood than stone?
ReplyDeleteYes, they built it without and slanted roof because it would be too heavy to support a stone roof that is slanted is my understanding.
DeleteWooden roofs are lighter than brick roofs, however brick roofs are stronger. In climates with snow they use the lighter wood roofs, thus Germany, France, etc. are predominantly wooden roofs. In Sevilla snow isn’t an issue so they go with the stronger brick roofs.
ReplyDelete