Travel Guide |
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 Overview
As a former capital of Spain
with a well-preserved history of
relentless splendor, Toledo has
come to enjoy a prestigious
status as a National Monument
and a World Heritage Site
bestowed upon it by the UNESCO
in 1987. Nearly all the
different stages of Spanish art
are represented through some
hundred attractions in the city
which altogether make Toledo a
sparkling jewel of the Iberian
peninsula. Its beauty was first
depicted and introduced to the
world by El Greco's paintings,
and that graceful image with
which Toledo is often
automatically associated has
been immortalized since. If you
would like to spend your
vacation in a city of culture
packed with sights, sounds and
senses, Toledo is definitely a
place to go.
History
The Iberians had long used
Toledo as a fortified urban zone
before the Romans conquered it
in 192 B.C. By the 7th century,
the Visigoths completely subdued
the peninsula and made Toledo
the capital of Spain from 587
A.D. until the Moors took over
in 711 A.D. Under the Moorish
rule, the Muslims, Christians
and Jews lived together
peacefully and the city even
prospered until Alfonso VI of
Castilla re-captured the city
for the Christian monarchs in
1035. It thence became a
thriving capital of the empire.
Unfortunately, by the 16th
century the empire had grown so
much that Toledo's small size
became incompatible with the
ever growing need to expand,
hence Felipe II decided the
capital be moved to Madrid.
Since then Toledo was plunged
into a state of decline until it
was made the regional capital of
the Autonomous Community of La
Mancha in the 1970s.
Geography & Climate
Toledo lies about 70 km
southwest of Madrid on a hill
and can easily be reached from
the country's capital. It is
bounded on three sides by the
Tagus River Gorge on the plain
of the New Castille. Its inland
location results in some extreme
climate. Summer in Toledo can be
warm, sometimes even hot
especially in late summer (July
and August) when the
temperatures often hover above
30? C. Winter is cold and
occasional snowfalls are common.
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