The Royal Tobacco Factory of Seville holds a peculiar distinction: it is the oldest industrial building in Europe, and the birthplace of one of opera's most famous characters. Construction began in 1728, replacing a wooden predecessor that burned down, which is why this version was built entirely in stone. A moat surrounded it too, less for defence than to stop cigar thieves.

At its peak, the factory employed around a thousand Roma women from the Triana quarter, rolling cigars while men ground leaves into snuff. Conditions were grim enough to spark strikes and organised theft, and it was this defiant spirit that inspired Bizet's Carmen. The factory closed in 1925 and became the University of Seville three decades later.

VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours follow the outer moat, using the building to trace Triana's Roma community and the labour unrest that gave the world its most popular opera.