As you know, Americans are famous for their addiction to imitate everything European. And not only in the names of cities (New York, New London, several cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg), but also in architecture.
Few people know that one of Miami's main attractions, the Freedom Tower, is nothing more than a copy of the bell tower of the Cathedral in Seville.
Seville is the capital of Andalusia, a southern province of Spain. We all remember the indefatigable Figaro, the protagonist of the classic opera The Barber of Seville (Figaro is here, Figaro is there).
So - it was in this city at the time of the discovery and development by the Europeans of the American continent that was the largest port in Spain and throughout Europe. Ships with looted Indian treasures came here.
The huge ship Atocha, loaded with tons of gold and silver bars, pearls, emeralds and other jewelry, was heading to Seville's port from South America. This liner was a kind of "Tinanik" of the 17th century. About 200 representatives of the European aristocracy sailed on it when he sank off the coast of Key West in 1622. (You can listen to the fascinating history of treasure hunts from Atocha on our excursion to the southernmost US city. You will have the opportunity not only to see the jewels raised from the bottom of the ocean with your own eyes, but also to touch them. Excursion here.
It was through the Seville port that trade with the new colonies in America was going on. The Giralda tower towered above this port (translated from Spanish - "weather vane"). The bell tower was called so because it was crowned by a bronze four-meter sculpture "Christian Faith" spinning around its axis, with a flag in hand.
The Giralda bell tower itself in its "past life" was a minaret of a mosque built in the 12th century. After the liberation of Spain from the Moors, the mosque was turned into a Catholic cathedral, and the minaret became the bell tower of this cathedral. It is curious that Muslim Moors, in turn, built a minaret on the site of an ancient Roman temple. The Giralda base is made of huge faceted stones of the ancient temple - they reach three meters in thickness and on some stones there are still inscriptions in Latin from the Roman Empire. Thus, the Giralda tower is simultaneously a symbol of three religions: paganism, Islam and Christianity.
Seville and the New World are united by the fact that in the cathedral of this Spanish city there is the grave of the discoverer of America - Christopher Columbus.
In Miami, a tower was built, which also rises above the port, and looks like a Seville bell tower like two drops of water. The Americans erected it as a symbol of the gate to the "Old World" - to Europe. It is curious that ships entered the Seville port from the Atlantic Ocean, the waters of which are washed by Miami. It turns out that on the two shores of the same ocean are two identical towers. One of them for the whole of Europe symbolizes America, and the other - Europe for America.
But this Miami-Seville symbolism is not limited. The Spanish Giralda (also known as the Freedom Tower in Florida) is literally built into the center of the facade of the Biltmore Hotel, the most beautiful hotel in Miami. The height of this hotel - 96 meters - is exactly the same as that of the Giralda in Seville. Freedom Tower is a little smaller - 78 meters.
The hotel and the tower were built almost simultaneously. Freedom Tower in 1925 and Biltmore in 1926. And they were designed by the same architect - Leonard Schulz - an American of German descent.
Initially, the Freedom Tower was built as the editorial board of the local Miami News newspaper. After the revolution in Cuba in 1959, everyone who did not want to build communism there moved to America. Miami was covered by a wave of Cuban emigration.
And it is in the port tower that there is a kind of "filtration point" for refugees from Cuba. It was through this tower that Cubans gained true freedom. Hence the name - "Freedom Tower". As a reminder of the saving past of the Freedom Tower, the Cuban flag is constantly developing at one of its corners, and the American one at the other. Now in this tower is a museum of Cuban emigration. Entrance to the museum is absolutely free. Welcome!
Autor: Edward Glezin (Candidate of Historical Sciences)