The professor at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM)Ignacio González-Varas Ibáñez has published the book ‘Toledo, the conventual city’the result of a research project funded by the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha and the European Development Fund … Regional (ERDF). The publication reviews the history of the convents of Toledo during the last millenniumaddressed as “protected islands that have played a crucial role in shaping the city.”
With 328 pages and more than 200 illustrations, plans and photographs, The book documents the historical and urban evolution of the convents and monasteries in Toledo. These buildings, which mostly occupy entire blocks of the urban fabric, are described as “protected islands that have played a crucial role in shaping the city». The work not only focuses on the architectural and urban aspects, but also addresses the historical and artistic richness of these monumental complexes.
Starting from a study that compiles and interprets the history of almost fifty convent buildings, the book includes numerous plans that show the process of founding and implementation of these institutions in the city and how they have contributed to the creation of some of the urban spaces. most emblematic of Toledo, such as the squares of Santo Domingo el Real and San Juan de los Reyes or the sheds.
The book presents a panoramic view of the monumental complex of the convents of Toledo formed by 35 buildings, of which 14 still maintain religious life inside, while commenting on the 17 convents and monasteries that were demolished. “This is a complex of extraordinary cultural value considering the convent in its dual nature as a house or accommodation for religious men and women and a community formed by them,” says the author, who demands, at the same time, actions for its conservation. “The absence of vocations, the large area and size of the conventual buildings and the scarcity of resources of the communities that inhabit them are risk factors for these institutions and their heritage,” he says.
As the professor explains, “a bird’s-eye view of the 35 convent buildings that still survive has been made, which has allowed for the first time to observe them graphically as isolated sets». In the book he also analyzes and interprets the five functional areas present in these buildings: liturgical and religious, the common area of government of the convent, the bedrooms and cells, the area of relationship with the outside through the porters and locutories and the service, consisting of kitchens, woodsheds, orchards, chicken coops or warehouses. “This book tries to contribute to providing a panoramic and at the same time exhaustive vision of the group of convents and monasteries, understood as one of the most significant legacies of the city of Toledo,” concludes the author.
