Toledo, Kingdom of Spain
Region: Old Town
Theme: Roman Catholic Church
Visit: June, 2019
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The person who visited Toledo for #MuseumOnTheRoad and took the photos of Santa Iglesia Catedral Primada de Toledo was my wife Milene, all credits for her. I didn’t have the opportunity to visit in person, but the photographic documentation work and then her reports about this Medieval Cathedral left me amazed and motivated to plan a trip to this city of Christian knights.
The Holy Church Cathedral is dedicated to Virgin Mary in her Ascension to the heavens. Its construction began in 1227 under order of the Archbishop Don Rodrigo Jiménez mandate. The site was situated over the foundations of the Visigoth Cathedral in the sixth century, which had been used as a Mosque. Constructed in a Gothic style with a French influence, it measures 120 m long by 60 m wide and contains 5 naves supported by 88 pillars and 72 vaults.
The side naves are extended behind the Main Chapel surrounding the presbytery and this creates an apse aisle with a double semicircular corridor. Its first architect was the French origin Master Martín, who made the outlines and began construction at the front of the temple.
The Cathedral is the Mother Church of diocese because it holds the chair or See of the Bishop, is the place where the Eucharist and the rest of the liturgical celebrations are held. Therefore, this Cathedral is like an evident symbol from the particular Church, a part of the Church of Jesus Christ; One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.
The Main Chapel has one of the most sumptuous craftsmanship grilles from the Spanish Renaissance, made by Francisco de Villalpando and it took more than 10 years to complete. The piece is divided into two panels and five rows and is finished with a magnificent Crucifix and Charles V coat of arms.
This funeral chapel was built between 1435 and 1440 by Hanequín de Bruselas and was financed by the Constable of Castile Don Álvaro de Luna, the favorites of Juan II until he was beheaded in 1453. It takes up three quarters of the outside apse aisle and it was made in a Gothic Toledan style with a star shaped, arch ribbed vault. In the middle of the chapel there are the sepulchers of Don Álvaro de Luna and his wife Doña Juana Pimentel and it is only thanks to her, that the chapel could be finished.
Other important family burials are placed at the sides (from left to right) Juan de Cerezuela (†1442) and Pedro de Luna (†1404), Toledo’s archbishops, and Don Juan de Luna and Don Álvaro, (Constable’s son and father respectively). In the angles of the chapel there are several saints sculpted by Mariano Salvatierra in 1791.
Distributed throughout the grounds, there are a total of 22 Chapels, each with its own identity and dedicated to different saints or religious figures. Highlights include the Main Chapel, with its wrought iron grille, and the Treasury Chapel, which houses the imposing Custody of Arfe, used in the Corpus Christi procession.
Within the Cathedral of Toledo there are areas that, in addition to the art works they gather, require a visit and an unhurried look. The Cathedral Museums are: the Sacristy, the Treasure, the Chapter Hall, the Choir and the Blind.
La Virgen del Velo
XVI Century
La Virgen de la Leche
XV Century
Martyrdom of Saint Peter
1616
St John Baptist
1594
Toledo Cathedral is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Spain, attracting visitors from all over the world.
Photo-α: El Transparente of the Cathedral.
Further information at: Catedralprimada.es | wiki.org/ToledoCathedral | wiki.org/CapillasDeLaCatedralToledo
“Beyond its specific historical and artistic value, the Cathedral Church has a theological value and significance as a reference point for the pastoral life of the whole diocese, for the priests and for the lay faithful.
Moreover, cathedrals have been a place where the Western and European culture was forged; they were the embryo of today’s universities, they anticipated welfare work and were art workshops.
Today cathedrals are witnesses to this culture and a message of transcendence and values for the people.”
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