Cathedral - Toledo, Spain
 Toledo, southwest of Madrid, is the most splendid of the cities near the capital and is so packed with historic treasures that it has been designated a national monument. As Toletum, the city was important in Roman times and later became a capital of the Visigoth invaders from the north. In A.D. 712 the city passed to the Moors and then in 1085 to Alfonso VI of Castile, who made it the capital of his kingdom. Until Philip moved the court to Madrid, Toledo was the Ciudad Imperial y Coronado —"imperial and crowned city"—a title it is still permitted to use.
The most famous painting of the city, El Greco's View of Toledo, is in the Metropolitan Museum in New York City, but the painter's greatest work, The Burial of Count Orgaz, and his home, which is now a museum, are in Toledo.
Other evidences of Toledo's colorful past are visible everywhere. Outside the city walls, for example, are the remains of the Roman colony, a medieval castle, and the Fabrica de Armas (arms factory), where the steel weapons for which Toledo has been known since the Middle Ages are still made. Within the walls there is a vivid lesson in Spanish architectural history—the great cathedral, which is called Gothic because it was begun in the 13th century, but which incorporates other Spanish architectural styles as well. Among them are Mudejar, plateresque, Churri-gueresque, and neoclassic. Mudejar is the name given to the style influenced by the Moors; plateresque is an early 16th-century form that resembles the delicate work of silversmiths. Churrigueresque is named for Jose Churriguera, whose extravagant designs marked the high point of Spanish architecture in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Other notable religious buildings in Toledo are the former mosque, dating from the 11th century and now called Santo Cristo de la Cruz, and the synagogue of El Transito.
Daydreamers who have been accused of "building castles in Spain" will discover why when they see the magnificent castles in Segovia, which are fully fantastic and beautiful enough to inspire even the most down-to-earth. The most famous is the fortress-castle, the Alcazar, which was once the home of Queen Isabella I, and is still a fitting home for royalty. Segovia is also known for its remarkably preserved Roman aqueduct, which has brought water to the city since the 1st century a.d.
|
