Monday, May 28, 2007

A day in Toledo

I had a lovely visit to Toledo today. Located an hour south of Madrid, Toledo has been the capital of the country for many centuries before it was moved to Madrid. Being the first city to fall back to Christian control by Alfonso VI of Castile, 400 years before the fall of Granada, there is very little trace of a Moorish kingdom left in the modern day Toledo.

The main part of the trip for me was to see the cathedral. I’ve been hearing and reading so much about it before I landed in Spain.

The cathedral’s sacristy is a mini Prado with 18 paintings by El Greco and few others from Goya, Titian and Velazquez.

I was very glad to have stopped by the Santa Cruz Museum after lunch near Plaza Zocodover. The Renaissance building, once an orphanage, now hosts more paintings of El Greco and Murillo in a more intimate sitting. It was much easier to appreciate the pieces standing up close in the quiet halls along, far from the noisy crowds and tour groups. You can almost hear the whispers from the paintings telling tales of the artists, saints and what live was like back when Toledo was the center of Spain. The upper level of the building displays various ceramic tiles from several regions throughout Spain. The similar tiles are prevalent on many old buildings in Lisbon. They were once used as a decorative and affordable material to insolate buildings. It was interesting to see that while tiles from Barcelona and Valencia consisted mostly of floral patterns, the ceramics from Sevilla predominately featured equestrian scenes of bull fights.

Surely many wars have been fought in the name of God, but where would El Greco be without god, or Bach, or Raphael, or Michelangelo. It’s almost impossible to stand in the massive cathedrals surrounded with paintings depicting stories from the bible and believe that god doesn’t exist. Spain would not be the same without the Romans, the Visigoths, the Moors and certainly the Catholics. I am not a religious person and don’t have the habit of saying grace before a meal but I feel like I should thank god for inspiring such moving pieces of art. As Bach once said: "The aim and final reason of all music is none else but the glory of God."

No comments: