Trio in Toledo Part 1

 Two weekends ago I went to city of Toledo. It only took about two hours by bus to get us there, but the travel gave us a great perspective of the region of Castile y La Mancha.

Spain has around 20 regions of Semi Autonomous nature. Castile Y La Mancha is one of the largest and its wide plains are known for supplying the nation with a lot of its food.These same plains are also famed for the setting of Cervantes masterpiece, Don Quixote, and the author, Cervantes lived in the regions center, Toledo.

Since the Roman era, Toledo was a center for the region. Mostly its geographic location in the center of Spain made it ideal the different rulers to control the area. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Spain came under control of the Visagoths. The Visogoth Christians leadership also centered its empire in Toledo. However, in the 9th Century the Moors took the city from Christians and kept it as a powerful stronghold of resistance in the coming campaigns by Christian kingdom in the north.

During the time Toledo was a apart of Moor held Spain or Al Andalus,  Christian, Muslim, and Jewish people were able to exist in relative peace.  Eventually however, Christian forces under  Alfonso VI of Castile retook the city in 1085. This marked one of the first major victories for Christian forces in the nearly 700 year Reconquista.

 


























Even with the insurrections of Christians against the Islamic caliphs who controlled Toledo and the siege by Alfonso VI of Castile, Toledo's walls and gates remain in great condition.

As we approached the main gate to the city it was evident that we were entering old Spain. Once through the he Puerta Bisarga we found ourselves surrounded by walls of an inner courtyard. One could imagine the disappointment of breaking down the first door only to be surrounded by archers with another gate blocking your entrance to the city.

The court yard also had a statue of one of my favorite Spanish kings, Carlos I. As if European monarchs weren't hard enough to remember the statue was labeled Carlos V, the Spanish name for Charles V. Because European families intermarried, during his life, Carlos was Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire aka most of Germany, Netherlands, and Austria. His succession to the Spanish throne also gave him control of Spain and subsequently the Spanish colonies in America. So this statue is recognizing him by his larger title of Emperor to which he is the 5th Charles. However in the Spanish monarchy he is the first Charles or Carlos I. European monarchs liked to use similar royal names as a way to mess with people.

The walk up hill brought us to another gate, called the Puerta de Sol. The path we followed was paralelled by a narrow two way road that led into old Toledo.

 On the other side was a near two hundred foot drop. Ignoring the modern cars, roads and building the view offered a glimpse of what old Castile de La Mancha looked like, and you could imagine Don Quixote charging a windmill on the expansive plain before us.

 We decided to enter Toledo's maze of narrow streets and get lost in the endless shops selling an excessive amount of awesome swords, armor, helmets, and gold work. Occasionally we were surprised to see some art hidden in the street.

Toledo Adventure continues... at the Catedral of Toledo

Saturday in Segovia Part II

Like most cities in Spain and Europe in general Segovia is a city of various cultures and lots of historical layers. Evidence of Segovia's long history is hard to escape as a giant Roman made arqeduct runs through the city. This ancient structure brought water to the old roman city that once stood and is still in amazing shape.

Although the area around the Aquaduct does not reflect the ancient Roman building. There are still a host of old churches and buildings that mimic a Romanesque style. From the side of the aquaduct we were able to get a great view of the city and its red tiled roofs.

The other main historical attraction in Segovia reflects the more recent times. Following the modern streets south from the Romanesque buildings, we found caught a view of the Cathedral de Segovia.

The Cathedral of Segovia rests on the most defensible part of the city. Climbing the long steps it was hard to imagine any army wanted to run up the steps while getting pelted by arrows and stones but like most places in Europe, many battles were fought  here.

 

Taking the route up the stairs gave an excellent view of what priorities ancient cities had. High walls, narrow channel walkways, and many easily cut of gates still showed defending against enemies as a big priority.

Considering the history of the Spain before the 16th Century as a story of small independent kingdoms battling Romans, Visagoths, Moors, various other  Islamic invaders, and eventually independent Christian kingdoms the city of Segovia was a testament to a mixed culture with a past of war.

Segovia in particular underwent several transitions in population. Notably during the height of the Islamic Empire in Spain, Segovia was largely abandoned by the Christian Visagoth inhabitants. However, following King Alfonso VI's reconquest of Toledo the Kingdom of Castile y Leon became centered around Segovia.

 The Catedral de Segovia highlights the southern part of the city with its late gothic towers and beautiful spires. The original was located further south, near the city fortress of Alcazar . However because of numerous battles that ended up with the cathedral being used to defend besieged armies and its ultimate destruction during the Comuneros uprising it was rebuilt away from the main battle zone.

The construction of the Cathedral lasted from 1525-1577 and remains one of the most prominent examples of Gothic architecture in Spain

The inside of the catedral was even more impressive with the vaulted ceiling and beautiful stain glass. I also thought that the gold work on the altar and organ was very impressive. 

I enjoyed the engravings and painting scattered around the naves of the catedral.  I'm sure by the end of my three month stay in Europe I will become numb to the artwork but I so far  I'm fasinated by how many different ways artists have represented Jesus in their works.

Stepping outside the Catedral's huge wood doors you could understand how this place would have been used a defensive position against besieging armies. 

The size and thickness of the doors combined with the overall vastness of the stone structure made it seem like a very safe place to escape any enemy which probably says something about the objective behind the design of a lot of Catholic churches in general. The feeling of awe one gets from the massive halls and beautiful architecture give its members a feeling of security amidst the dangers of life.













Outside in the sunlight the incoming storm clouds made the buildings stonework standout. 
We didn't get a chance to go inside Segovia's other famous church, Church of San Miguel de Segovia, which was a disappointment because of its historical signifigance as the church where Isabelle I was crowned Queen of Castille. Getting your Royal family straight is important in understanding European history but this one a little bit easier for US centered Historian like myself. Isabella is remembered because she and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon defeated the last of the Islamic kingdoms in Granada and thus completing the 300 year Reconquista of Muslim forces by Christian forces in 1492. However that same year she, more importantly in my mind, gave permission for Chrisopher Columbus to set sail to find a transatlantic passage to India. Which hopefully everyone knows is how Europeans became aware that there were two more continents to Europeanize. Whatever good or bad that came from that experience it is still a big event to remember.

I also enjoyed the Leon statues that decorate many of the buildings in the Castille y Leon region. This one in particular seemed to be sticking his tongue out towards the church, which seemed a bit odd, but maybe an art history major could explain the significance of it.

The next part of are trip brought us the the very southern tip of the hill Segovia rests upon. On the cliffed wall sits the Azcalar ( or Fortress) that stood in different forms from as early as the Roman and Moor days when it was just a wooden fort. The current castle walls with many Disneyesque towers were an amazing sight to see. 

 Unfortunately we had spent too long at the Cathedral and just missed getting in but the view was well worth going.

The tower just about 200 feet below our cliff perch is the Church of Vera Cruz and Templar site that claimed to have a piece of the actual cross Jesus was crucified on. There were many natural caves in the surrounding cliffs, bringing to mind scenes from Indiana Jones, the Last Crusade, but with the sun going down I was out voted and it was decided that this wasn't the best time to go on an adventure for Templar gold.

Instead, the sunset offered us a great substitute in an amazing sunlit view of the two big churches of the old town.











As we walked back to the bus station, racing the sun down the hill through the narrow street passages of Segovia we got a glimpse of a beautiful sunset on the hills above town. A great way to end a trip and a great first weekend in Spain.

Next time... Toledo!