When: January 29, 2005

Where: Seville, Spain

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What: Iglesia de San Luis de Los Franceses
The Church of St. Louis of the French was built between 1699 and 1731. It is the best example of baroque architecture in Seville and one of the most important works of baroque in all of Europe. Its construction was made possible by a donation from Doña Lucia de Medina to the Company of Jesus with instructions to build a church dedicated to Saint Louis, king of France and to bury her remains there.

Its layout is in the shape of a Greek cross, which resembles a circle while its impressive altarpieces and mural paintings reach up to the magnificent dome and make it seem infinite and eternal. The church and altarpieces embody a wide range of materials such as different types of wood, stained glass, painted glass, mirrors, gilding, rope, paintings on various materials, brass, silver and other metal inserts, iron nails etc.

Why: “The church is perfect for making spherical panoramas, but I also wanted to show this church because unfortunately it is not well known. People visiting Seville do not usually visit it because most even do not know it exists,” Jose Maria Requena writes.

How: Jose Maria Requena used a Nikon D70, Nikkor 8mm f2.8, Light Manfrotto tripod and an old 3Sixty panohead for cylindrical. Six vertical shots to cover 360º plus additional one for zenith, three different exposures for each position in order to combine them in Photoshop, PTGUI-Panotools for stitching.

View more panoramas of the lovely private chapel, Capilla Doméstica, part of the San Luis building.