The Metropol Parasol is one of Seville's most conspicuous landmarks. Billed as the world's largest wooden structure (it measures about 490 by 230 feet, and rises 85 feet above the ground), it looks like the output from a huge, demented waffle iron, or like some immense alien lifeform that has sprouted from the concrete. The locals call it Las Setas de la Encarnación (the Mushrooms of the Incarnation), and it does resemble six colossal fungi whose tops have merged into one large, amorphous surface. While concrete and steel were involved, the bulk of the structure is made of polyurethane-coated birch panels which have been fastened together, largely by glue. Embedded within the recesses of the woody structure are a Central Market and a restaurant, and the top, which is somewhat higher than the surrounding buildings, serves as an observation platform. The structure was completed in 2011. Which explains why it appeared to us as a puzzling work in progress when we'd seen it in 2010.

The Metropol Parasol pretty much subsumes a square called the Plaza de la Encarnación, with an amoebalike appendage (and one "mushroom") slopping across the Calle Imagen to the south.

The square's name comes from a convent which was located there from the 16th Century until its destruction by French forces in the early 19th Century. After the Frenchmen departed, a conventional building was constructed to house a Central Market. This building lasted long enough to eventually qualify as a blight on the neighborhood, and it was torn down in two phases, in 1948 and in 1973. The square was used mainly as a parking lot until the early 1990's, when it was decided to turn it into a proper underground parking garage, with a new market building on top of it. Preliminary construction began, but it didn't take long before the builders ran into some ancient Roman ruins. The project was paused, so this development could be pondered.

After a good long ponder, the city council decided they wanted to preserve the ruins and create an archaeological museum around them, while still adding a market hall to the square. A design competition was launched in 2004, with these being the major constraints. The winner turned out to be a German architect named Jürgen Hermann Mayer (self-named "Jürgen Mayer H"), who proposed the eventual Metropol Parasol. Also among the constraints, naturally, was the non-destruction of the ruins, and six areas were identified among the ruins in which support columns could be safely installed. These were incorporated as the "stems" of Mayer's mushrooms. Construction began in 2005, with the primary builder being Spanish company Sacyr Vallehermoso. With the project being so unique, difficult technical challenges were encountered and eventually overcome, but the project ended up going significantly overschedule and overbudget. It was, however, completed in April of 2011. Reaction to the structure by locals has been divided. But a lot of Parisians didn't like the Eiffel Tower at first, either.

We checked out of the Bécquer Hotel, so we wouldn't have to worry about beating checkout time (they allowed us to store our luggage in a small room for a couple of hours), and walked over to have a closer look at the Metropol Parasol, which was not far. Standing underneath it, we could see that its lattice structure cast a great deal of shade (welcome in a Sevillian summer) without completely blocking the sunlight.


The Parasol has four levels: the underground Antiquarium (where the ruins are), the street level (where the Central Market is), a level below the top (the restaurant can be found here), and the top (where the best views are to be had). We looked around the restaurant level a little, but we weren't hungry, so we headed to the top.

On the top a walkway snaked its way across all the wood and polyurethane. In places there were signs pointing out points of interest.


We found the best views from the northern end of the Parasol, where the highest point of the walkway was. Most interesting to us, and probably to most tourists, was the direction of the old town, where we could see the cathedral and Giralda, as well as some other churches. In one direction we could see some modern-looking buildings which we found out were left over from Expo 92 and apparently weren't being used for much anymore.



We found our way back to ground level and returned to the hotel to pick up our luggage. We took a taxi to the train station and said our farewells to Sevilla. It was time to move on to our next destination: Córdoba.