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You are here: Home Leisure Travel & Tourism Discover Toledo and its museums

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02/07/2011Discover Toledo and its museums

Discover Toledo and its museums The museums in the well-preserved medieval city hold the key to the rich heritage left behind by the Jewish, Romans, Visigoths, Moors, and Christians.

Toledo's well-preserved medieval city could be considered a museum in itself - a fact recognised by UNESCO in 1986, when it named it a World Heritage Site.
 
Built on the city's Celtiberian, Roman, Visigothic, Muslim, Jewish and Christian roots, Toledo would eventually become the seat of the Spanish empire and a major European cultural centre attracting leading figures from all fields, from translators and swordsmiths to artists such as El Greco.
 
Toledo street viewA wealth of museums document the heritage left behind by all these groups, and it is impossible to visit them all in one day. It is also likely that one or another museum will be undergoing restoration at any given time, since most are housed in landmark buildings.
 
However, one of the most famous paintings by the 16th-century artist, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz (sometimes known as Lord of Orgaz), can still be seen at its usual location, the Church of Santo Tomé.
 
Another major art gallery is the Museo de Santa Cruz, which is housed in a former church and hospital with a Greek cross ground plan.
 
The facade was designed in the Plateresque style, an elaborate and delicate way of carving stone that imitated silverwork and thrived in the 15th and 16th centuries.
 
Santa Cruz contains the collections of two former museums, and is divided into three sections containing archaeological artefacts, fine arts and local craftsmanship. The first area includes items from the Roman, Visigothic, Muslim and Mudéjar (Muslims living under Christian rule) cultures, as well as some Jewish tombs. Paintings include the famous Assumption of the Virgin by El Greco as well as work by relevant Toledans of the 16th and 17th centuries.
 
The Sephardic Museum, located inside the Tránsito Synagogue, contains over 1,000 items illustrating daily life for the Jews who lived in Toledo under the various ruling elites, until their expulsion in the 15th century by Catholic decree.
 
El Pais / Expatica


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