Torre de los Perdigones & Camera Obscura Seville

"Located in the San Gil neighborhood of Seville, next to the Barqueta Bridge, the main access to Expo '92, the Torre de Perdigones - Cámara Oscura (Ballpoint Tower) is a tower that was part of the old San Francisco de Paula factory, popularly known as the Fábrica de Perdigones (Ballpoint Factory).

As its name suggests, the factory was one of the many foundries that existed in the city and was fully dedicated to the manufacture of ballpoint (a task carried out in the tower), bullets, and sheet zinc for the production of zinc tubs, very famous in their time. Built in 1885, it was owned by Manuel Mata.

Ballpoint was manufactured by melting lead in a furnace and, using large ladles, pouring it into sieves of different calibers (depending on the size of the ballpoint). The windows, which let in air, did the rest: due to the effect of gravity, the ballpoints fell like rain. Around the time of Expo '92, it was restored thanks to a well-known department store that subsidized the project, and in August 2005, it was restored again thanks to the City Council.

It was inaugurated as a camera obscura in 2007, one of the few existing camera obscuras in the world, allowing a view of the city from a height of 45 meters, almost half the height of the Giralda."

restitutio integrum

"2024. View of the entire city. Edit February 2025 Unfortunately, the facility is closed in February. No information. The entrance is filthy and dirty. It's clear there's no human presence. I just wasted my time."

Karol Kopeć

"It's a site that could attract quite a few visitors if it were open, given its location and location, whether for individual visits or small groups, or for school trips.

But, like everything, the decline and political disinterest are evident."

Miguel Ángel García Tomás