UK Tel: 01209 211 800
Intl Tel: +44 1209 211 800
CESA House
Pennance Road
Lanner
Cornwall
TR16 5TQ
Great Britain
t: 01209 211 800
Intl t: +44 1209 211 800
f: 01209 211 830
Founder member of the Year Out Group and the International Association of Language Travel Agents.
Semana Santa : Sevillaños style!
Visitors from all over Spain and from abroad love to be present in Seville for the Semana Santa celebrations. The festival goes way beyond a religious event and is a fantastic time to be in the city but be sure to book your course and accommodation well in advance as everything gets fully booked well beforehand.
If you're looking for an intensive one week course - this is a good week to avoid. The college is closed for two days in the week (Maundy Thursday & Good Friday) simply because the crowds in the streets enjoying the festivities are so large. That said, if you're looking for an unforgetable experience, an insight into Andalucian culture and a better understanding the Sevillaños, being present for Semana Santa is a must!
The obvious way to enjoy the processions is to find a spot amongst the crowds and wait for the floats to go by. Their movement is very slow so once they come into view you may well be able to see them for a long time. Every float leaves its parish and heads for the official route from the north of C/Sierpes via Avda de la Constitución to the Cathedral where they enter from the west and depart from the east to return to their starting place. Check out the routes in detail at www.semana-santa.org.
Another interesting way to appreciate the enormity and the beauty of the floats is to visit the church where they originate from. Two of note are in the Basílica de la Macarena and the Basílica de Jesús del Gran Poder, which are west of the old city centre. Here you'll see a constant stream of parishioners dropping into their church to pay tribute to the Virgin and admire the beautiful floats which reside inside.
Semana Santa (Holy Week) has been one of the most important religious/city celebrations in Seville for centuries. The Cofradías (Brotherhoods) process in penitence through the narrow streets of the city, from their church to the Cathedral and back, taking the shortest possible route, as decreed in the rule of the ordinances by Cardenal Niño de Guevara in the 17th century.
Semana Santa Dates
2010: 28th March - 4th April
2011: 17th - 24th April
Starting on Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday), and ending on Domingo de Resurrección (Easter Sunday), the brotherhoods pay their religious visit to the Cathedral of Seville, the third largest Cathedral in the world.
> Further details on the Processions
> Great Semana Santa photos Courtesy of The Guardian
> A first hand report from 2008 Courtesy of The Telegraph
To be there to share the Semana Santa experience
arrange a Spanish language course in Seville with CESA Languages.
Call us on 01209 211800.
