Photographs - Madrid

Madrid
Mariana Ornelas' Trip to Spain, Summer 2004

Toledo

Toledo is an hour by car from Madrid in the heat of Castilla and La Mancha. The earliest mentions of this city date back to the fourth century BC. The Romans took Toledo in 192 BC and in the early 5th century it was conquered by Germanic tribes and later became the capital of the Visigothic kingdom of Hispania After the Moslem invasions where it lived moments of political and religious splendor. Toledo lost importance for over three centuries until in 1085 it as taken by King Alfonso VI.

For more than 2 centuries, until the reign of Alfonso X the Wise, Toledo became a European intellectual center, and the School of Translators was created here to translate Arabic and Greek literary and scientific texts into Latin.

The Archbishopric was to be for many centuries the driving force behind the Toledo´s economy and ideology. The Archbishops, mostly from the nobolity had great political influence and economic power derived from the taxes they controlled and the vast amounts of land they possessed throughout the province.

Nowhere is there such a splendid collection of historic and artistic buildings which turn Toledo into a museum and have been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage City. The old part of town , perfectly delimited by the gorge formed by the Tagus River and by the city walls, is the geographical space which contains the most important buildings from an architectural viewpoint.

A panoramic view of the city with the magnificent Cathedral of toledo in the background	Another panoramic view	A view of the city and Tagus River	Mariana Ornelas against the city backgound
Panormanic view	One of the entry ways into the historical center of Toledo	Entrance into the Don Diego Restaruant	One of the many narrow streets in Toledo

More Toledo

Please send comments to: Colby Glass, MLIS, or Mario Ramirez

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