The Basílica de la Macarena is the sanctuary of the Virgen de la Esperanza Macarena, the most venerated image in Seville and one of the most recognisable religious icons in all of Spain. This 17th-century carving, by an unknown sculptor, with its five crystal tears and its expression of serene suffering, leads every Good Friday the most moving procession of Seville's Holy Week: it leaves at dawn with a brotherhood of more than three thousand nazarenos and is broadcast live by television channels across Spain. The museum of the Hermandad de la Macarena safeguards the magnificent canopy embroidered in gold and silver, the historic jewels of the Virgin donated by the Duchess of Alba, the bullfighter Joselito and other illustrious Sevillians, as well as the rich artistic heritage accumulated over centuries. The neo-Rococo basilica was built between 1941 and 1949 and stands next to the only surviving stretch of the Almohad city walls.
C. Bécquer, 1, Sevilla
