Toledo, Spain

After my last night in Consuegra, Spain, it was a quick drive to Toledo for two more days of touring and photography. In doing my research on Toledo prior to this trip, I was surprised to see how attractive the city is. I’d obviously heard of Toledo before (and not just the one in Ohio) but until this time I guess I hadn’t really seen many images of the city. I had read a fair amount about it in James Michener’s book, Iberia, but that was largely historical in nature — there was a great deal of information on Toledo’s role in the Spanish Civil War, and Michener’s own visits were now decades ago as well. Still, the landmarks remain (or have been rebuilt) and I was especially glad to have had Michener’s background on the cathedral before my visit. That particular structure I remember learning about in my college art history classes, but the refresher was more than welcome.

While this photograph was taken later in my stay, it shows the view from my hotel room:

The Hotel Boutique Adolfo is situated on Plaza Zocodover, and you couldn’t ask for a better location in Toledo. This hotel is just down the street from the Alcázar de Toledo and it sits in the heart of the old city. Zocodover and the Alcázar were greatly damaged during the Spanish Civil War, but you’d be hard pressed to find evidence of that today due to extensive reconstruction throughout.

Thanks also to the Adolfo’s location, it was the ideal starting point for a walking tour. First stop, the Mezquita del Cristo de La Luz — a mosque dating to the year 999 that was later converted into a Christian church:

A few stops later, and we were standing in front of the Cathedral of Toledo. In maintaining my non-lucky streak of finding myself arriving at monuments at times when they are undergoing restoration, the main tower was completely covered in scaffolding. It was only disappointing for a moment, however, because what I had really come to see was inside.

The image that follows is what I remember reading about in my art history class. The Transparante is a Baroque altarpiece created in 1729-1732 by Narciso Tomé and his four sons who were architects, painters and sculptors. All were necessary for this project as it involved cutting skylights through the thick walls of the cathedral (built between 1226 and 1493) and then adding sculptures and a painted a collection of angels, saints, prophets and cardinals to tie the skylights to the altar in a seamless mix of 2D and 3D art. It’s a stunning thing to see in person, and a rather challenging thing to capture in a photo. But here goes:

I could have spent all day at the Transparante, but we were soon off again, enjoying a great home-cooked meal at a B&B called Casa Palacio Rincón de la Catedral, then continuing on to see more of Toledo’s architecture. The Taller Del Moro museum was housed in a beautifully restored 14th century Mudéjar palace and we paid a visit to the Mariano Zamorano Sword Factory.

Another goal of my stay in Toledo was to try and get an overview shot of the city that could serve as an establishing shot for online and print stories. My interest in Spanish Paradores (a state-owned chain of hotels) led me to a great viewpoint for just such a shot. The Parador sits outside of town, across the river, but it has an expansive patio that overlooks Toledo and makes for great dusk or dawn photography.

But first, on the way up to the Parador, we made a quick stop at another scenic overlook just below the hotel. This is a similar view as the one from the Parador deck, but you can see more of the river. It’s also a pretty tight space that can be quite crowded with tourists.

The view from the Parador has the added advantage of having restaurant service. It’s pretty convenient to be able to set up your tripod and then order a beer. Not a bad way to spend a beautiful evening. The low cloud cover in the west prevented a dramatic sunset, but the twilight sky darkening as the city lights came on more than sufficed.

Thanks to a not-too-early departure, I was able to take a pre-dawn stroll down to the river for one more shot I had researched prior to my trip. The Puente de Alcántara is a Roman bridge, though it has been repaired and modified several times over the centuries. It used to be one of the only ways to enter Toledo from across the Tagus River and it gives wonderful views of the city and the Alcázar that towers above. It’s a fairly steep walk down from Zocodover Plaza, where my hotel was located, but not far at all. The sky was somewhat uncooperative and I didn’t get any direct sunlight on this morning, but it was still a nice moody scene, and another good overview shot for my files.