Macarena Gate

It is located in the calle Resolana, within the barrio de San Gil, which belongs to the district of Casco Antiguo of the city of Seville, in Andalusia, Spain.

[3] Crowns the set the ceramic altarpiece by painter Manuel Rodríguez representing the Virgin of Hope of Macarena, inaugurated in 1923 by the infanta Maria de la Esperanza of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.

Arrival at the Puerta de la Macarena at ten o'clock, on a silver altar swore to respect the privileges of the city and made her triumphal entrance to it through the gate.

[21] In 1508 Ferdinand II of Aragon made his entry into the city through the gate, accompanied by Germaine of Foix, and for which were installed for the first time in Seville triumphal arches; in total were counted thirteen, that traveled in scenes the victories of the monarch [22] His grandson the king Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor arrive on March 10 of 1526, was sworn in and made lawsuit tribute to the city at the gate, which came to it to celebrate his weddings with Isabella of Portugal.

In 1723 underwent a renovation by order of Alonso Pérez de Saavedra y Narváez, Count of la Jarosa, being mayor of the city, and in 1795 was rebuilt by the Sevillan architect José Chamorro, eliminating the Almohad appearance and bestowing the classicist air which currently has.

Possibly suffered damage during the conflict, and once completed was renovated, and it removed an altarpiece dedicated to Virgin of Sorrows that guarded inside, all prior to 1849, and was one of the gates that by then not closed at night.

This measure did not affect the walls of the Macarena, which were saved by an allegation of the Commission of Monuments on its historical value that made them different from the rest, but the city council continued with the intention to make them disappear.

[36][37] Despite this official statement, in 1909 the city council continued to maintain its idea of ensanche and new urbanity of the neighborhood, so it made the following determination about its demolition:[38] If the remains of the Roman walls that in lamentable state of ruin extending from the puerta de la Macarena towards Capuchinos had any archaeological value or recall a glorious fact of our history, it would not be the councilman who dared to propose its demolition, even recognizing the great benefits that it could bring entire Seville and especially the neighborhood in which these are embedded; but these remains of the walls have no other merit than that given its age, and this is not enough reason for that it be sacrificed conveniences of very high order.

[38]The arch is strongly linked to the image of Holy Mary of la Esperanza Macarena and their confraternity through it annually at beginning and end its penitential station in dawn of Good Friday.

[4] On the occasion of this relationship was installed in the attic of the gate in 1922 a ceramic azulejo polychrome altarpiece representing to this image by the Alcalareñan painter Manuel Rodríguez y Pérez de Tudela.

[40] Ten years later took place the most significant step of the Confraternity of la Macarena through the gate, which occurred during the celebration of the 4th centenary of the foundation of confraternity; after a solemn pontifical officiated the September 23 by the Archbishop of Seville friar Carlos Amigo Vallejo, and attended the Infanta Maria de la Esperanza of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (who had opened 72 years before the azulejo ceramic altarpiece), along with her husband, the pretender prince of Brazil Don Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza, the Marian image held a procession extraordinary through the streets of the city, through the gate to its exit and entrance of the temple.