Palacio de Lebrija

Palacio de Lebrija is a palace in Seville, begun as a noble house during the fifteenth century. Its façade dates from the sixteenth century. A central garden and Sevillian façade give the building an Andalusian palace layout. Two floors once separated summer rooms below from winter rooms above.

Regla Manjón Mergelina purchased the property in 1901 and became known as the Countess of Lebrija. She transformed the house into a setting for art, architecture, and archaeology. Roman mosaics cover about 580 square metres of floors and walls, after arriving from Italica, ten kilometres away. Vases, amphorae, sculptures, ceramics, jewellery, and Louis XIV furniture represent Greece, Rome, Persia, and Etruria.

Moorish arches, plateresque decoration, salvaged convent tiles, and Renaissance details fill the interiors. The upper floor contains Arabic and Asian-style rooms, a family dining room, chapel, and library. A coffered ceiling from a sixteenth-century palace adds another remarkable detail. Paintings linked to the Murillo school and works by Van Dyck complete this meeting of Mediterranean archaeology and European art.