The great Renaissance painters Velasquez and Murillo were born here, and Ferdinand and Isabela ruled all of Spain from the gilded royal apartments in the Alcazar Palace. Seville, the capital of Andalucia was a last foothold of the great Moorish empire that once ruled the entire Iberian peninsula. Though the city carefully preserves its past, modern Seville is the commercial hub of Andalucia. The city's streets are crowded with visitors year round. Seville offers an amazing choice of cultural activities for a city of fewer than 700,000 people from flamenco theaters to classical, pop, and jazz concerts.
Life is lived in the outdoor cafes, tapas bars, and vast array of restaurants throughout the city.
Since its establishment in the 18th century, the Universidad de Sevilla has been one of Spain's leading institutions of higher learning. Its Faculties of Philology, Geography and History, Philosophy, Law, Medicine, Natural Sciences, and Engineering and its many schools and institutes, serve the educational needs of Spain's most populous region. In total, the Universidad de Sevilla, at all its Seville locations, is the educational center for some 90,000 students.