Cathedral of Toledo

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The Cathedral of Toledo is one of the three 13th century High Gothic cathedrals in Spain. It was modeled after the Bourges Cathedral though its five naves plan is the consequence of the constructors' intention to cover all of the sacred space of the former City Mosque with the cathedral, and of the former sahn with the cloister. It also combines some characteristics of the Mudéjar style, mainly in the cloister, and with the presence of multifoiled arches in the triforium. The spectacular incorporation of light and the structural achievements of the ambulatory vaults are some of its more remarkable aspects.

One of its more outstanding parts is the Baroque altar called El Transparente, several stories high, with fantastic figures of stucco, painting, bronze castings, and multiple colors of marble, a masterpiece of Baroque mixed media by Narciso Tomé enhanced by the daily effect for a few minutes of a shaft of sunlight striking it through an appropriately oriented hole in the roof, giving the impression that the whole altar is rising to heaven. The fully Baroque display makes a strong constrast with the predominant Gothic style of the cathedral. It is from the play of light that this feature of the cathedral derives its name. The Cathedral also receives its light through more than 750 stained glass windows, from the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, the work of some of the best artists of those times.