SPAIN | Toledo, Spain Travel Guide
Sunday, December 22, 2024
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Catedral of Toledo
Old Town,
Toledo
Castilla la Mancha
Spain
Location: Old Town Toledo
Type: Religious Site
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Toledo
Castilla la Mancha
Spain
Location: Old Town Toledo
Type: Religious Site
Comments ( 0 )
Rating (0 Votes)
The Catedral of Sevilla is larger and more grandiose, but for many the Catedral of Toledo is Spain’s most evocative. It was begun in 1226 but took 250 years to complete, around the time Columbus was discovering the New World and the Catholic Monarchs were conquering Granada.
With its grand construction, the Moorish mosque that had claimed the site and had previously been converted from the Visigothic basilica was lost. The exterior is frank in its Gothicism and mostly obscured from proper view by the three-story buildings crowding around it. Owing to its long period of construction, the interior is a mix of Mudéjar, Gothic and Renaissance.
After entering through the Puerta Llana, the Renaissance coro (choir) immediately confronts you in the center of the space facing the high altar. It is a massive square of carved stone, alabaster and dark wood. The layers forming the stalls where the priests sit during mass are carved with figures depicting scenes of the conquest of Granada and, above them, biblical figures carved in the 16th century – those on the left by the Spaniard Alonso Berruguete and to the right by Frenchman Felipe Vigarní Bargoña.
The transept separates the choir from Capilla Mayor, for many the most impressive feature of the Cathedral. It dates to the late 16th century, with an intricately fashioned wrought-iron cage from which the gold-encrusted reredos can be appreciated as it rises high above the altar, with scenes of prophets, the Virgin and Child, and a huge depiction of the crucifix. The tomb of Cardinal Mendoza also lies within.
To light the tabernacle, which had dwelt in the shadows of the towering reredos, the architect Narciso Tomé was commissioned to strategically cut holes in the Catedral’s exterior walls so natural light would be cast on the tabernacle during mass. Known as the Transparente, these were cut low on the back of the main altar and across the ambulatory high on an exterior wall and adorned with angelic sculptures and paintings so as to conceal them but not block the new light. Of the Cathedral’s 22 chapels, mention should be made of the ornate Gothic Capilla de Santiago, with a statue of Santiago Matamoros (the Moor Killer) atop a thrashing stallion and with the tombs of Álvaro de Luna and Juana Pimentel, as well as the Capilla del Virgen del Sagrario, patron saint of Toledo. The Sacristy displays a long hall of El Grecos depicting the 12 disciples, Jesus and Mary. There are other notable works by Lucas Jordán, Van Dyck, Tristán and Goya, whose The Arresting of Jesus on the Mount of Olives is among the highlights.
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