The Palace of San Telmo is today the seat of the presidency of the Andalusian Autonomous Government. Construction of the building began in 1682 outside the walls of the city, on property belonging to the Tribunal of the Holy Office, the institution responsible for the Spanish Inquisition. It was originally constructed as the seat of the University of Navigators (Universidad de Mareantes), a school to educate orphaned children and train them as sailors.
The palace is one of the emblematic buildings of Sevillian Baroque architecture. It is built on a rectangular plan, with several interior courtyards, including a central courtyard, towers on the four corners, a chapel, and gardens. Presiding over the chapel is an early 17th-century statue of Nuestra Señora del Buen Aire.
The main façade of the palace is distinguished by the magnificent Churrigueresque entrance completed in 1754.
Atop the façade facing Calle Palos de la Frontera, across from the Hotel Alfonso XIII, are sculptures of twelve illustrious Sevillians, sculpted in 1895 by Antonio Susillo.
References:The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.