Legends, stories, heroes — as I mentioned before, we’re continuing in the same vein. This time, I’ll tell you about a love story from Seville. You could call it their version of Romeo and Juliet.
The story takes place in the Santa Cruz district. This is a lively area that tourists often visit, where you can eat, drink, enjoy the colorful and narrow streets, and stumble upon something interesting with every step. In some buildings, you can hear flamenco guitarists playing, and you can also catch flamenco shows at certain well-known venues. Of course, you’ll pay a bit more here compared to the rest of the city.
Santa Cruz is also home to two famous landmarks: the Royal Alcazar, a magnificent royal palace, and the Seville Cathedral, which was originally a mosque and later converted into a cathedral. I’ll share more details about these later on.
In the past, Santa Cruz was home to Christians, Jews, and Muslims, who lived together for many years. Over time, political changes altered this harmony. In fact, at one point, the Jewish community was separated from the rest of the city by a wall.
And this is where the Romeo and Juliet story begins.
A Jewish girl named Susona fell in love with a Christian young man. At the time, relationships between Christians and Jews were forbidden — but love doesn’t follow rules. Like Adam and Eve, like Romeo and Juliet, love found a way.
As with many traditional love stories, the families intervened and said the relationship couldn’t continue. They insisted it was just a passing infatuation. But the young lovers didn’t listen, and things progressed to the point of marriage.
In order to marry, one of them had to convert religions. Susona decided to convert. This upset her family, who then made a plan to have her fiancé killed.
Susona found out about this plan and warned her lover. Acting swiftly, the young man managed to kill Susona’s entire family before they could get to him.
In response, the Jewish community gave Susona two choices: either she would die, or she would renounce her love and apologize to the community.
Susona refused — and was executed the next day.
But that wasn’t the end of it. Her head was cut off and hung from the balcony of her house as a warning to others about the price of betrayal. Her skull remained there for 200 years. Today, in its place, there is a picture that represents her.
It is believed that though the two lovers couldn’t be united in life, their souls found each other in the afterlife. The symbol of this belief is an orange tree and a palm tree growing from the same root in the house’s courtyard.
You can see it in the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96n0oE3r5oo
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