Silver and filigree

The history of Cordoba written in strands of silver

This activity is aimed at people who appreciate the fine things in life, because the things that predominate on this tour are aesthetics, delicacy and expertise that is as ancient as it is exquisite. Filigree is a silver and goldsmith’s technique using fine strands of metal, usually silver and gold, which are intertwined to form delicate tracery. We offer the chance to learn at the hands of a master silversmith, sharing his tools and workbench. We’ll show you the tools needed to execute a work of filigree and guide you in the task of designing and mounting your own souvenir, which you can keep as a delightful memento of your stay in Cordoba.

And after the workshop what could be better than to stroll through the magnificent Old Town – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – to savour Cordoba’s historic and legendary alleyways as we head to another exceptional venue: a workshop where the secrets of Andalusian jewellery are jealously guarded, with its delicate techniques dating all the way back to the 10th century. We’ll finish our day in that other gem of Cordoba: its taverns – where the gold is not so much crafted as imbibed – and we’ll discover the intimate relationship between the taverns and Cordoba’s guild of silversmiths.

Cordoba is the city of silver. The tradition of working precious metals goes back thousands of years and its quality has been recognised since the Roman era, when the sierra to the north of the city was an endless source of precious metals. During the Ummayad Caliphate, gold and silversmiths from all over the world flocked to Cordoba to discover techniques and metals they could not find in the rest of Europe. By the end of the Middle Ages, the guild of silversmiths was well established and activity reached a peak in the 16th century thanks to the precious metals that arrived from the Americas. These days Cordoba boasts the highest concentration of craft jewellery workshops in the whole of Spain and accounts for 60% of the national output. This is largely due to the fact that Cordoba’s artisans have been able hand down their techniques from generation to generation, so that now the city is one of the largest and most renowned centres of jewellery production in the world.