Toledo Cathedral
Catedral Primada Santa Maria de Toledo, familiarly known as Toledo Cathedral, is not the largest or oldest cathedral in Spain, but it is arguably the most important (one of our tour guides called Toledo “the Vatican of Spain”). It’s considered by experts to be the epitome of Gothic-style cathedrals. The superlatives don’t really matter; Toledo Cathedral was absolutely ASTOUNDING!
I had tickets for “Lumina,” the cathedrals’ evening light show. I wanted to see the interior before the show, so after our walking tour we went for a look. We didn’t take a tour or listen to an audio guide. We simply walked through the cathedral, necks craned and mouths open, trying to take in all the splendor surrounding us. That short visit ended up being more than two hours of AWE.
The main nave was massive - longer and wider than an American football field, with a vaulted ceiling soaring fourteen stories above us. There were many side chapels, and an elaborately decorated choir (seats for clergy and singers) dominated the center. There was a towering, almost gaudy Baroque altarpiece; on the other side of it was another altarpiece, also monumental in scale but very different in style. I don’t have the words or knowledge to adequately describe the cathedral’s over-the-top opulence, so I’ll just share these photos.
The Sacristy next to the nave was like a miniature version of the Prado. The frescoes on the vaulted ceiling were by Luca Giordano, one of the artists who worked on San Antonio de los Alemanes. There were paintings by El Greco lining every wall. My favorite was one of Saint Joseph with the boy Jesus. Small side rooms had works by Titian, Caravaggio, Velazquéz, Goya, and other masters.
At the rear of the nave, a small chapel housed the Great Monstrance of Arfe, a ten-foot tower of elaborately crafted gold and silver encrusted with jewels. It held a portable 14th century monstrance that is carried in procession every year on the feast of Corpus Christi. For long moments, we were mesmerized by the glittering, monstrous monstrance. After that, our eyes and minds needed a break from all the magnificence, so we left the cathedral for a snack and a rest.
That night, we returned to Toledo Cathedral for the light show. It was eerie; the entire place was completely dark except for some small spotlights just inside the entrance. We were given small devices with English language audio. The lights went off, and the show began. Ushers with special flashlights shepherded the crowd to different parts of the cathedral as the show unfolded. The narration was rather fluffy mystical stuff, but I liked the music, and the visuals were spectacular. It was thrilling to watch the precise, colorful projections trace the decorative flourishes and make stone figures come to life. We were not permitted to take photos or video of Lumina, but this official video provides a good taste of our exciting experience.
