The Virgin of the Navigators

The Virgin of the Navigators (La Virgen de los Navegantes, also known as La Virgen de los Mareantes) dominates the Admiral's Room, in the Hall of Audiences or chapel of the Alcázar of Seville.

During the Age of Discovery, Catholics began to view the Virgin Mary as a symbol of motherhood, and all that was good, kind, and merciful. In the Virgin of the Navigators, Mary is depicted sheltering the Spaniards with her mantle. She rose above the seas, uniting continents, or above the bay, to protect the boats, their cargo, and their crew, as they embarked on the treacherous voyage across the Atlantic.