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Castilla–La Mancha / Spain

Castilla–La Mancha ), or Castile La Mancha, is an autonomous community of Spain. Comprising the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara and Toledo, it was created in 1982. It is bordered by Castile and León, Madrid, Aragon, Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia, and Extremadura. It is one of the most sparsely populated of Spain's regions. Albacete is the largest and most populous city. The government headquarters are in Toledo and the High Court headquarters are in Albacete. Castilla–La Mancha was formerly grouped with the province of Madrid into New Castile , but with the advent of the modern Spanish system of autonomous communities , it was separated due to great demographic disparity between the capital and the remaining New-Castilian provinces. Also, distinct from the former New Castile, Castilla–La Mancha added the province of Albacete, which had been part of Murcia; adding Albacete placed all of the historic region of La Mancha within this single region. It is mostly in this region where the story of the famous Spanish novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes is situated, due to which La Mancha is internationally well-known. Although La Mancha is a windswept, battered plateau, it remains a symbol of Spanish culture with its vineyards, sunflowers, mushrooms, olive plantations, windmills, Manchego cheese, and Don Quixote.

El Greco Museum, Toledo

Castilla–La Mancha / Spain

The El Greco Museum is located in Toledo, Spain. It celebrates the mannerist painter El Greco , who spent much of his life in Toledo, having been born in Fodele, Crete.

Toledo Cathedral

Castilla–La Mancha / Spain

The Primate Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo , otherwise Toledo Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church in Toledo, Spain. It is the seat of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Toledo. The cathedral of Toledo is one of the three 13th-century High Gothic cathedrals in Spain and is considered, in the opinion of some authorities, to be the magnum opus of the Gothic style in Spain. It was begun in 1226 under the rule of Ferdinand III and the last Gothic contributions were made in the 15th century when, in 1493, the vaults of the central nave were finished during the time of the Catholic Monarchs. It was modeled after the Bourges Cathedral, although its five naves plan is a 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, 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. It is built with white limestone from the quarries of Olihuelas, near Toledo. It is popularly known as Dives Toletana .

Hospital de Tavera

Castilla–La Mancha / Spain

The Hospital de Tavera, also known as the Hospital de San Juan Bautista, Hospital de afuera, or simply as Hospital Tavera, is an important Building of Renaissance style that is in the Spanish city of Toledo. It was built between 1541 and 1603 by order of the Cardinal Tavera. This hospital is dedicated to John the Baptist and also served as pantheon for its patron, Cardinal Tavera. Initially it began to be constructed under the supervision of Alonso de Covarrubias, being succeeded by other architects and finishing the work Bartolomé Bustamante. The remoteness with the old part of the city made it known as el hospital de afuera, since within the walls there already existed the Hospital de Santa Cruz. Currently the building remains the property of the House of Medinaceli and inside it is the Museo Fundación Lerma, which houses part of the artistic collections of this lineage, as well as the Section of the Nobility of the National Historic Archive.

Iglesia de Santo Tomé, Toledo

Castilla–La Mancha / Spain

The Iglesia de Santo Tomé is a church located in the historical center of the city of Toledo , and was founded after the reconquest of this city by King Alfonso VI of León. It appears quoted in the 12th century, as constructed on the site of an old mosque of the 11th century. This mosque, together with other mosques in the city, were used as Christian churches without major changes, since in the taking of the city there was no destruction of buildings. However, at the beginning of the 14th century, being in a ruinous state the church was totally rebuilt in charge of Gonzalo Ruiz de Toledo, Lord of Orgaz, and the old minaret of the mosque was transformed into a bell tower in Mudéjar style. Its fame is mainly due to the fact that it contains the painting The Burial of the Count of Orgaz by El Greco, which can be seen by accessing the back of church.

Santo Domingo el Antiguo Altarpiece

Castilla–La Mancha / Spain

The Santo Domingo el Antiguo Altarpiece is a 1577-1579 altarpiece by El Greco, painted for the Monastery of Santo Domingo el Antiguo in Toledo, Spain. The artist had just arrived in Spain and this was his first major commission there, gained thanks to Diego de Castilla, who he had met in Rome. The total commission was for nine canvases, seven for the high altar and two for side altars. The high altarpiece was made up of an upper main canvas , a lower main canvas , four flanking panels of saints and a small painting on the tympanum between the two main paintings . Of these, only the original panels of St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist remain in situ, along with the painting for the right-hand side altarpiece, Resurrection. Assumption is now in the Art Institute of Chicago and Holy Trinity in the Prado Museum. The rest are replaced in the church by copies.

Museum of Santa Cruz

Castilla–La Mancha / Spain

The Museum of Santa Cruz is a 16th century building in the city of Toledo, Spain, which was originally an important hospital , eventually becoming a museum in the 19th century. The hospital was founded by Cardinal Mendoza at the end of the 15th century to centralize assistance to orphaned and abandoned children in the city. It has a remarkable Plateresque portal, work of Alonso de Covarrubias. The building has a Greek cross plan and four courtyards, two of which were completely completed. The first is of Covarrubias and gives access to the upper floor through a three-ladder staircase. The museum has two floors. The cruiser covers the two floors and is covered with ribbed vaults. In the north arm was located the chapel. The museum has sections of Archeology, Fine Arts and Decorative Arts. The Fine Arts funds are distributed on the first and second floor of the building, and those of archeology, in the Noble Cloister and in an underground floor. The Decorative Arts have a sample of Toledan folk handicrafts, which is also located on the floor of the basement.

Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes

Castilla–La Mancha / Spain

The Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes is an Isabelline style Franciscan monastery in Toledo, in Castile-La Mancha, Spain, built by the Catholic Monarchs .