Only in Seville by Duncan J.D. Smith

La Macarena 1960. One room contains an interesting collection of artefacts pertaining to Seville’s famous April Fair (Feria de Abril) (see no. 48). The finest room is un- doubtedly the Salón de Gi- tana (Gypsy Hall) reached through an ornately carved Plateresque archway. Pre- sided over by a sculpture of a flamenco dancer by Mariano Benlliure (1862– 1947), it contains a fine collection of Flemish tap- estries. Despite being hemmed in by surrounding build- ings, the palace gardens are beautiful. Lemon trees and towering palms trans- port the visitor far from the dusty city outside, and the Bougainvillea covering the palace façade is glorious when in bloom. The Span- ish poet Antonio Machado (1875–1939), who was born here, extolled such beauty in his verse. Don’t miss the family chapel added in the 16th century. Like its counterpart at the Casa de Pilatos, it has a glazed tile dado and a Gothic rib-vaulted ceiling. Over the altar hangs a painting of Saint Catalina of Sienna by Florentine artist Neri di Bicci (1419–1491). The explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512) is said to have married here after settling in Seville in the early-16th century. Other locations nearby: 31, 33, 36 The delightful main courtyard at the Palacio de las Dueñas 71