Visiting Seville's Plaza de España to Become Paid to Fund Its Preservation
The Seville City Council will charge an entrance fee to Plaza de España, one of the city's most iconic landmarks, designed by architect Aníbal González and built for the 1929 Ibero-American Exhibition, to fund its preservation and guarantee its safety.
This was announced this Sunday by the mayor of the capital Seville, the popular José Luis Sanz, on his X account, El Mundo writes.
"We plan to close Plaza de España and charge tourists to fund its preservation and guarantee its safety. In addition, we will create a school of craft workshops. Of course, the monument will continue to be freely accessible and free for all Sevillians," the mayor said on social media.
According to Sans, the fee will also pay for "round-the-clock surveillance services".
The only people who will have access to the square for free are those who are registered in Seville, as well as those who were born in both the city and the province.
The money will be split between the two administrations as follows: the central government will keep 25% and the council will receive the remaining 75%.
In addition, the agreement takes into account that there are offices and administrative services on the Plaza de España that are used by citizens. In these cases, the local authorities will make sure that access to them is guaranteed, just as horse-drawn carriages will be able to enter the space.
The monument has a total area of 50,000 square metres, making it the most impressive plaza in Spain.
A 515-metre-long canal stretches around the perimeter of the square, which visitors can explore by boat. In addition, four bridges cross this canal, representing the ancient kingdoms of Spain.
Finally, it's worth mentioning that Plaza de España has become a favourite with various film directors, as it was the location for famous movies such as Lawrence of Arabia or Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
As The Gaze previously reported, to combat excessive tourism, Venice, Italy, plans to charge tourists €5 per day to visit the city in order to preserve it. Also, this year, Venice banned large tourist groups of more than 25 people.