After we finished touring Casa de Pilatos we walked through the streets of Seville to the next house: the home of Condesa Del Lebrija; whose nephew now owns it.

An interesting feature of the aristocratic homes in Spain is the two identical living spaces; the upper floor for use in winter and the lower floor for the summer.  The floor plans and room functions are the same on each level, although the decorating is different.  The family just moves up or down depending on the heat.                                             The Countess of Lebrija.

The front courtyard of the Condesa’s casa contained a 2-3 BC century mosaic from Italy.  She bought it and had it dis-assembled, then re-assembled in her Spanish house.  Before the tiles were re-laid she had the courtyard excavated 20 feet down and found many Roman-era ceramic shards and marble pieces.  The mosaic was too large for the existing courtyard space so she had two walls of the house moved back to make room. The house was full of ancient books, dishes, pottery, bits and pieces of buildings and gorgeous furniture.                                          A couple of ancient tapestries.From the Condesa’s palacio we were taken on a walking tour to La Bar Hosteria Del Laurel in the Santa Cruz Jewish Quarter, where we had tapas and wine for lunch.

Something interesting happened after we finished lunch.  I’ll tell you about it in my next blog.