EL GIRALDILLO
The Original & Its Replica
The lower and largest part of the Giralda was originally the minaret of Seville's Almohad mosque.
After the Christian conquest of Seville in 1248, the former minaret became the bell tower of the Cathedral.
Its original Islamic upper decoration did not survive intact. The bronze spheres that once crowned the minaret were lost after a medieval earthquake, and the summit subsequently went through several transformations.
The decisive change came in the 16th century.
1558
Hernán Ruiz began the great Renaissance transformation of the upper part of the tower and construction of the present bell chamber.
1568
The Renaissance crown and monumental Giraldillo were completed, creating the silhouette that still defines Seville today.
The result is one of the most recognizable combinations of Islamic and Renaissance architecture in Spain: an Almohad tower crowned by a Christian Renaissance bell structure and an enormous rotating bronze allegory.
The monumental figure was cast by Bartolomé Morel, one of the great bronze founders working in 16th-century Seville.
Morel collaborated on several elements associated with the new Renaissance tower designed under the direction of Hernán Ruiz.
The Cathedral records the completion of the monumental weathervane in 1568.
Hernán Ruiz
Master architect responsible for the great Renaissance transformation and new bell tower begun in 1558.
Bartolomé Morel
Bronze founder responsible for casting the monumental weathervane that crowns the completed Renaissance tower.
Morel's workshop also belongs to the history that would eventually lead to Seville's great bronze-working tradition in the San Bernardo area and the later Royal Artillery Factory.
The figure is a monumental female allegory representing the Victorious Faith.
She is dressed according to the classical visual language characteristic of the Renaissance and holds a shield or banner and a palm.
The palm had been used since antiquity as an emblem of victory and was subsequently adopted into Christian iconography.
The shield has another important function: its broad surface catches the wind and helps turn the enormous figure around its vertical axis.
The Female Figure
She represents Faith in allegorical form rather than a historical woman or a specific saint.
The Palm
A traditional symbol of victory that fits the iconography of the Victorious Faith.
The Shield
Part of the symbolic image but also fundamental to the aerodynamic function of the weathervane.
Classical Appearance
Her dress and warrior-like appearance reflect the Renaissance revival of the visual language of Classical Antiquity.
The military appearance of the figure — particularly the shield, classical clothing and monumental pose — can recall ancient representations of warrior goddesses such as Athena or Minerva.
This comparison helps explain the artistic language used by Renaissance artists, who frequently adapted forms inherited from Classical Antiquity to represent Christian virtues and ideas.
However, the Giraldillo itself should not simply be identified as Athena.
Its documented Christian meaning is the Victorious Faith.
The visual contrast is undeniably powerful: a Christian allegory crowns a tower whose lower structure was originally the minaret of the great Almohad mosque.
It is therefore understandable that later descriptions have interpreted the Giraldillo as a symbol of Christianity triumphing over Islamic Seville.
What should be avoided, however, is presenting every detail — particularly the palm — as if it had been specifically designed to represent the military defeat of Islam.
The surviving official descriptions identify the statue more broadly as the Victorious Faith.
One of the most surprising details is the relationship between the names Giralda and Giraldillo.
Today everyone calls the tower the Giralda and the statue the Giraldillo.
Historically, however, the relationship appears to have developed in the opposite direction.
Early sources used Giralda for the great rotating figure itself. The term is connected with the idea of turning or girar.
Because the giant statue turned with the wind above the tower, its name eventually came to be applied to the whole structure.
Once Giralda had become the established name of the tower, the smaller affectionate form Giraldillo became the common name for the figure.
First: Giralda
The rotating figure itself was known by this name in early modern Seville.
Later: The Tower
The name gradually became associated with the entire bell tower, producing the usage that survives today.
The Giraldillo is not merely sculpture.
It was designed to rotate around a large internal metal support, turning according to the direction of the wind.
This makes it both an artwork and a sophisticated piece of Renaissance mechanical engineering.
Its internal structure has required major interventions over the centuries. In 1770, for example, the original internal support was replaced after deterioration caused by time and the effects of events including the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.
By the end of the 20th century, specialists had become increasingly concerned about the condition of the original sculpture and its internal mechanical structure.
In 1997, the Giraldillo was removed from the top of the tower for detailed examination and restoration by the Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico.
A full-size bronze replica was produced in 1998, allowing the silhouette of the Giralda to remain complete while the original was being treated.
1997
The original Giraldillo was removed from the tower for a major programme of research and conservation.
1998
A bronze replica was created by sculptor José Antonio Márquez Pérez with a multidisciplinary technical team.
1999
The replica was installed on the Giralda while conservation of the original continued.
2005
The restored 16th-century original finally returned to the summit of the Giralda.
The restoration also created an unusual opportunity: visitors could finally appreciate the true scale of a figure normally seen more than one hundred metres above street level.
The full-size bronze replica has subsequently been displayed around the Cathedral area.
The Cathedral reported in February 2026 that the replica was installed beside the Puerta del Príncipe as part of the conservation works then taking place on the neoclassical façade.
Protecting a gigantic 16th-century metal sculpture exposed permanently to sun, rain and strong winds requires continuous study.
In February 2026, the Cathedral Chapter and engineering company Ayesa signed an agreement for a new technical and scientific investigation of both the original Giraldillo and its replica.
The work includes aerodynamic, structural and kinematic analysis, as well as study of the bronze alloys and the iron and steel components used internally.
Aerodynamics
Specialists are studying how wind loads act on the rotating figure and its large shield.
Structure
The internal metallic framework and mechanical elements require careful monitoring after centuries of exposure.
Movement
The investigation also examines the behaviour of the system that allows the sculpture to function as a weathervane.
Replica
The copy is studied as a genuine emergency replacement so that it could operate correctly on the tower if ever required.
Few monuments summarize Seville's history as powerfully as the Giralda.
Its lower structure belongs to the Almohad mosque of medieval Islamic Seville. Above it rises the Renaissance bell tower created for the Christian Cathedral. At the very summit, the Giraldillo completes the composition.
This does not mean that one period simply erased the previous one. What makes the tower extraordinary is precisely that the different stages remain visible at the same time.
The Figure That Gave the Giralda Its Name
The Giraldillo is much more than the tiny silhouette visible from Plaza Virgen de los Reyes. It is a monumental Renaissance bronze, a sophisticated mechanical weathervane and an allegory of the Victorious Faith that has watched over Seville since 1568.
Perhaps its greatest curiosity is hidden in its own name: the rotating figure once known as the Giralda ultimately gave that name to the entire tower. Today the tower is universally the Giralda, while the remarkable sculpture that helped name it survives affectionately as the Giraldillo.
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