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Among Spain’s finest art repositories, it is second only to the Prado in Madrid for its range of great Spanish paintings. Housed in a former 17th-century convent, the collection focuses on the Seville School, led by Zurbarán, Cano, Murillo and Valdés Leal, including Murillo’s touching Virgen de la Servilleta . Don’t miss El Greco’s poignant portrait of his son and the polychrome terracotta of St Jerome by Florentine sculptor Pietro Torregiano, a colleague of Michelangelo’s.

The Moors can be credited with the development of the guitar, which they adapted from the four-stringed lute. The Middle Eastern musical forms they imported were also to have an effect later on flamenco (see Aspects of Gypsy Culture).

Operas set in Andalucía include The Marriage of Figaro (1786, Mozart), The Barber of Seville (1816, Rossini) and Carmen (1875, Bizet).

As the commemorative plaques adorning the façade reveal, this fine Baroque church is one of the most significant buildings in Spain – and not simply due to its unusual elliptical floorplan. On 29 March 1812 a group of Spanish patriots defied a Napoleonic blockade and met here to compose the country’s first constitution. The document’s liberal ideas have inspired fledgling democracies ever since.

Gypsies (Roma ) arrived in Eastern Europe in the 14th century and in Andalucía in the 15th century. Linguistic research shows that their language, Romany, was related to ancient dialects from northern India. Why they left India is unclear, but was possibly due to war with invading Muslims.

Picasso (1881–1973) was born in Málaga, although he settled in France in 1909. His native land, with images of the bullfight and later of the horrors of the Franco era, turned up in his work throughout his career.

This splendid 15th-century palace is a study in originality. The façade’s columns defy categorization, while the gallery evokes the Renaissance style, as does the double-tiered patio. The latter also sports a monumental Baroque staircase.

This 18th-century palace is a striking example of the Spanish Baroque style. The cornice is composed of waves and volutes, lending it a sense of movement. The family escutcheon crowns the carved stone doorway, which also has elaborate pillars. The palace has now been converted into a hotel and restaurant.

Roldán (1624–99) was one of the chief proponents of the Spanish aspiration to combine painting, sculpture and architecture into unified works of art, such as the altarpiece in Seville’s Hospital de la Caridad.

Named after the province’s contribution to the genre, the taranto dance.