Town Panorama of Seville 1580

As a gate to the New World, Seville, with a population of 130,000 one of the largest cities in the world in the 16^th century, attracted merchants from everywhere. The central importance of the city as a place of commercial exchange is demonstrated in this picture, by, for example, the many ships in the foreground and the busy activities on both shores of the Quadalquivir.

Alonso Sánchez Coello (1515–1590), Vista de la ciudad de Sevilla, oil on canvas, about 1580; source: with the kind permission of the Museo de América, Madrid.