In 1248 the Christians conquered Isbiliya, ending more than five centuries of Muslim rule. From that same year the mosque was consecrated by the Sevillian Chapter to be used as a Cathedral. It is then that the minaret became a bell tower, although the yamur due to the beauty of the set remained. More than a century later and due to the precarious state of the Almohad building, it was decided to build a new temple of such magnitude that anyone who saw it would think it was a real folly. And it was decided to keep the minaret and two wall stretches that surround the current Patio de los Naranjos.
In 1356 an earthquake broke the iron bar that held the balls of the yamur and it collapsed. After several attempts to finish off the bell tower in a dignified way and with the economic boom that Seville experienced after the conquest of America in 1492, the Cathedral Chapter proposed to finish off the old minaret in a grandiose way. After rejecting in 1555 the project of Diego de Vergara, chief architect of the Cathedral of Malaga, who proposed a pyramidal wooden top, the Chapter of Seville approved in 1558 the design of the Cordovan architect Hernán Ruiz II, a body of bells in a Mannerist style that as a great monstrance would finish off the Christian bell tower. The work was completed in 1565 and also included frescoes by the painter Luis de Vargas, which have now been lost.
The Renaissance construction was structured in five bodies that would give shape to four belfries with six bells each. In ascending order: the body of bells, which is the one that visitors can access today; the clock body, with a clock from the 18th century; the body of stars or of the well, with a Latin inscription that runs through the four faces of the tower; the body of Carambolas, of circular plant; and the plume, which ends in a dome on which the Giraldillo sits. The result was a bell tower that appeared to be an architectural unit, but which, however, is the sum of two parts that are distant both chronologically and stylistically, perfectly integrated thanks to the experience and knowledge of Hernán Ruiz II in real and ephemeral architecture, as well as his magnificent mastery of other minor and decorative arts. At that time, the bell tower of the Cathedral was called Major Tower either Tower of Santa Maria.
In order to consolidate the triumph of Christianity over Muslim culture, which was already implicit in the construction of the new Cathedral on top of the old Aljama mosque, it was decided to finish off the Major Tower with a “Colossus of Victorious Faith”. For this, the largest bronze sculpture of the entire Spanish Renaissance was made.
The sculpture, apparently, was designed by Luis de Vargas, modeled by Juan Bautista Vázquez “the Old” and cast by Bartolomé Morel, who also made the pedestal in the shape of a ball that is at his feet and that symbolizes the orb of the world. The statue measures about three and a half meters and weighs about 1200 kilos and was completed in 1568.
The figure, made in Renaissance style in the manner of classical Greek sculptures, is specifically inspired by the representation of Pallas Athena, although there are various studies that claim that it represents Joan of Arc, including others that relate it to the Minerva’s Fountain from the Prussian treasure of Hildesheimer, from 1st century BC. In any case, the knowledge of the Italian Renaissance style of its creators is manifested.
Conceived as a weather vane, it iconographically represents a female figure, which some researchers believe is pregnant (which would also relate to the Immaculate Conception, the conception of Jesus as a symbol of hope), heroically dressed in a capacete (metal helmet) and military clothing in the classic manner, holding in her right hand a shield topped by a Latin cross and a palm leaf on the left, a symbol of Christianity.
Since it was placed as the top of the bell tower, it was a real spectacle to see a weathervane of these dimensions rotate, which is why it began to be known as Giralda, at the end of the 16th century. Over the years, the bell tower was popularly known as “Giralda Tower” and from the 18th century that name was given to the entire tower, leaving the name Giraldillo reserved for the weathervane.
From the year 1592 to 1980 different restoration and maintenance works have been carried out for the optimum conservation of the Giraldillo. In 1981, a polyester copy was made on a mold of the original to relieve the weight of the upper part of the Giralda, which was suffering. But it would be in 1997 when the Ministry of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía carried out a deep and spectacular restoration. For this, a bronze copy was made in 1998 that replaced the original and culminated in 2005 with a great exhibition and the placement of the original Giraldillo by means of a crane almost 120 meters high.
