Seville Cathedral: Puerta del Perdón (Door of Forgiveness)

Puerta del Perdón (Door of Forgiveness)

Puerta del Perdón (Door of Forgiveness)
Located in the Calle Alemanes (Alemanes Street), the Puerta del Perdón (Door of Forgiveness) – which used to be the main entrance to the Almohad mosque in Moorish times – acts as the visitor’s entrance to the Seville Cathedral complex. It got its name because the faithful believed that sinners entered the cathedral through this door to seek forgiveness.

The door of the Puerta del Perdón opens onto the Patio de Los Naranjos, a large rectangular courtyard with orange trees, where visitors gather and relax under the shade of the orange trees.

Check the rear facade of the Puerta del Perdón that faces the Patio de Los Naranjos. Enclosing this courtyard on the opposite side is the north facade of the cathedral with a gate, Puerta de la Concepción (Door of the Conception), that leads to the northern arm of the transept. Visitors use this gate to enter the actual cathedral building.

As you can see from the image, the facade of the Puerta del Perdón is a fusion of Christian and Islamic art. The horseshoe-shaped arch is from the Almohad era. However, the surrounding plasterwork – although it looks like Islamic art – is not. In fact, it is the work of Bartolomé López, a Spanish sculptor who made it in 1522. As you can see, the artwork consists of beautiful flowery designs and the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Castile and León (Castle with three towers and crowned lion) on either side of the arch.

Flanking the arch are four beautiful clay statues made by Miguel Florentin. The statues of Archangel Gabriel and St.Peter are on the left side, and the Virgin Mary and St. Paul are on the right side. Above the arch is a narrative bas-relief depicting Jesus expelling merchants from the temple, an episode described in the New Testament.

Seville Cathedral: Puerta del Perdón (Door of Forgiveness)

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