Archivo General de Indias (Archive of the Indies), Seville

The Archive of the Indies is one of Seville’s most historically significant buildings and an essential place for understanding Spain’s global empire. The archive preserves documents related to Spain’s overseas territories and the administration of its vast colonial network.

The building itself predates the archive. It was originally constructed in the late 16th century during the reign of King Philip II of Spain as the House of Trade Merchants, a place where merchants gathered to conduct business connected with trade between Spain and the Americas. Designed in the restrained style of the Spanish Renaissance, the structure is organized around a spacious central courtyard surrounded by elegant arcaded galleries. Seville was chosen for this purpose because the city served for centuries as Spain’s principal—and at one time exclusive—port for commerce with the New World.

In 1785, King Charles III decided to centralize the enormous volume of documents related to Spain’s overseas empire. He transformed the former merchants’ exchange into a state archive dedicated to preserving records from Spain’s territories in the Americas and beyond.

A highlight of the building is the Grand Red Marble Staircase. Added in the late 18th century, it was designed to provide a majestic transition from the former merchants' courtyard to the scholarly world of the archives above. Pay attention to the rich, deep colors of the stone and the intricate patterns on the floor landings. The way the natural light falls from the windows onto the polished marble makes it the most photographed architectural feature in the building. To find it, look for the signs to the upper floor while you are on the ground floor.

As soon as you reach the top of the staircase you will find the second highlight of the building. The series of long, high-ceilinged galleries represent 80 million pages of history. Look at the shelving units, which are made of Cuban mahogany. If you look at the thousands of uniform boxes on the shelves, you are looking at more than five miles of continuous history. Be sure to check the rotating glass display cases in the center of these halls; this is where the archive displays high-value treasures, such as original hand-drawn maps of the New World and letters signed by the Conquistadors.

One particularly memorable display on the ground floor features a 1616 cannon recovered from the Spanish ship, a treasure-laden vessel that sank in a storm while returning from Havana.