1.
Toledo, Spain
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Toledo is a city and municipality located in central Spain, it is the capital of the province of Toledo and the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 for its cultural and monumental heritage and historical co-existence of Christian, Muslim. Toledo has a history in the production of bladed weapons, which are now popular souvenirs of the city, people who were born or have lived in Toledo include Brunhilda of Austrasia, Al-Zarqali, Garcilaso de la Vega, Eleanor of Toledo, Alfonso X and El Greco. It was also the place of important historic events such as the Visigothic Councils of Toledo, as of 2015, the city has a population of 83,226 and an area of 232.1 km2. The town was granted arms in the 16th century, which by special royal privilege was based on the royal of arms of Spain, Toledo is mentioned by the Roman historian Livy as urbs parva, sed loco munita. At that time, Toletum was a city of the Carpetani tribe and it was incorporated into the Roman Empire as a civitas stipendiaria, that is, a tributary city of non-citizens. It later achieved the status of municipium by Flavian times, with this status, city officials, even of Carpetani origin, obtained Roman citizenship for public service, and the forms of Roman law and politics were increasingly adopted. At approximately this time were constructed in Toletum a Roman circus, city walls, public baths, and a municipal water supply and storage system. The Roman circus in Toledo was one of the largest in Hispania, at 423 metres long and 100 metres wide, chariot races were held on special holidays and were also commissioned by private citizens to celebrate career achievements. A fragmentary stone inscription records circus games paid for by a citizen of unknown name to celebrate his achieving the sevirate, archaeologists have also identified portions of a special seat of the sort used by the city elites to attend circus games, called a sella curulis. The circus could hold up to 15000 spectators, during Roman times, Toledo was never a provincial capital nor a conventus iuridicus. It started to gain importance in late antiquity, there are indications that large private houses within the city walls were enlarged, while several large villas were built north of the city through the third and fourth centuries. Games were held in the circus into the fourth and early fifth centuries C. E. also an indication of active city life. A church council was held in Toledo in the year 400 to discuss the conflict with Priscillianism, a second council of Toledo was held in 527. The Visigothic king Theudis was in Toledo in 546, where he promulgated a law and this is strong though not certain evidence that Toledo was the chief residence for Theudis. King Athanagild died in Toledo, probably in 568 and this changed with Liuvigild, who brought the peninsula under his control. The Visigoths ruled from Toledo until the Moors conquered the Iberian peninsula in the years of 8th century. Today the historic center is pierced of basements, passages, wells, baths, a series of church councils was held in Toledo under the Visigoths
2.
Spanish language
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Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
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Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
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Mannerism
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Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, lasting until about 1580 in Italy, when the Baroque style began to replace it. Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century, stylistically, Mannerism encompasses a variety of approaches influenced by, and reacting to, the harmonious ideals associated with artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and early Michelangelo. Where High Renaissance art emphasizes proportion, balance, and ideal beauty, Mannerism exaggerates such qualities, Mannerism is notable for its intellectual sophistication as well as its artificial qualities. Mannerism favors compositional tension and instability rather than the balance and clarity of earlier Renaissance painting, Mannerism in literature and music is notable for its highly florid style and intellectual sophistication. The definition of Mannerism and the phases within it continue to be a subject of debate among art historians, for example, some scholars have applied the label to certain early modern forms of literature and music of the 16th and 17th centuries. The term is used to refer to some late Gothic painters working in northern Europe from about 1500 to 1530. Mannerism also has been applied by analogy to the Silver Age of Latin literature, the word mannerism derives from the Italian maniera, meaning style or manner. Like the English word style, maniera can either indicate a type of style or indicate an absolute that needs no qualification. Vasari was also a Mannerist artist, and he described the period in which he worked as la maniera moderna, james V. Mirollo describes how bella maniera poets attempted to surpass in virtuosity the sonnets of Petrarch. This notion of bella maniera suggests that artists thus inspired looked to copying and bettering their predecessors, in essence, bella maniera utilized the best from a number of source materials, synthesizing it into something new. As a stylistic label, Mannerism is not easily defined, “High Renaissance” connoted a period distinguished by harmony, grandeur and the revival of classical antiquity. The term Mannerist was redefined in 1967 by John Shearman following the exhibition of Mannerist paintings organised by Fritz Grossmann at Manchester City Art Gallery in 1965. The label “Mannerism” was used during the 16th century to comment on social behaviour, however, for later writers, such as the 17th-century Gian Pietro Bellori, la maniera was a derogatory term for the perceived decline of art after Raphael, especially in the 1530s and 1540s. From the late 19th century on, art historians have used the term to describe art that follows Renaissance classicism. By the end of the High Renaissance, young artists experienced a crisis, no more difficulties, technical or otherwise, remained to be solved. The young artists needed to find a new goal, and they sought new approaches, at this point Mannerism started to emerge. The new style developed between 1510 and 1520 either in Florence, or in Rome, or in both cities simultaneously and this period has been described as a natural extension of the art of Andrea del Sarto, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Michelangelo from an early age had developed a style of his own, one of the qualities most admired by his contemporaries was his terribilità, a sense of awe-inspiring grandeur, and subsequent artists attempted to imitate it
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El Greco
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Doménikos Theotokópoulos, most widely known as El Greco, was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. El Greco was a nickname, a reference to his Greek origin, El Greco was born in Crete, which was at that time part of the Republic of Venice, and the center of Post-Byzantine art. He trained and became a master within that tradition before traveling at age 26 to Venice, in 1570 he moved to Rome, where he opened a workshop and executed a series of works. During his stay in Italy, El Greco enriched his style elements of Mannerism. In 1577, he moved to Toledo, Spain, where he lived and worked until his death, in Toledo, El Greco received several major commissions and produced his best-known paintings. El Grecos dramatic and expressionistic style was met with puzzlement by his contemporaries, El Greco has been characterized by modern scholars as an artist so individual that he belongs to no conventional school. He is best known for tortuously elongated figures and often fantastic or phantasmagorical pigmentation, El Grecos father, Geórgios Theotokópoulos, was a merchant and tax collector. Nothing is known about his mother or his first wife, also Greek, El Grecos older brother, Manoússos Theotokópoulos, was a wealthy merchant and spent the last years of his life in El Grecos Toledo home. El Greco received his training as an icon painter of the Cretan school. In 1563, at the age of twenty-two, El Greco was described in a document as a master, meaning he was already a master of the guild and presumably operating his own workshop. Three years later, in June 1566, as a witness to a contract, most scholars believe that the Theotokópoulos family was almost certainly Greek Orthodox, although some Catholic sources still claim him from birth. One of his uncles was an Orthodox priest, and his name is not mentioned in the Catholic archival baptismal records on Crete, prevelakis goes even further, expressing his doubt that El Greco was ever a practicing Roman Catholic. Important for his biography, El Greco, still in Crete, painted his Dormition of the Virgin near the end of his Cretan period. Three other signed works of Doménicos are attributed to El Greco, in 1563, at the age of twenty-two, El Greco was already an enrolled master of the local guild, presumably in charge of his own workshop. He left for Venice a few later, and never returned to Crete. His Dormition of the Virgin, of before 1567 in tempera, the painting combines post-Byzantine and Italian Mannerist stylistic and iconographic elements, and incorporates stylistic elements of the Cretan School. It was natural for the young El Greco to pursue his career in Venice, though the exact year is not clear, most scholars agree that El Greco went to Venice around 1567. Knowledge of El Grecos years in Italy is limited and this may mean he worked in Titians large studio, or not
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Crete
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Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, 88th-largest island in the world and the fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and Corsica. Crete and a number of surrounding islands and islets constitute the region of Crete, the capital and the largest city is Heraklion. As of 2011, the region had a population of 623,065, Crete forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece, while retaining its own local cultural traits. It was once the centre of the Minoan civilization, which is regarded as the earliest recorded civilization in Europe. The island is first referred to as Kaptara in texts from the Syrian city of Mari dating from the 18th century BC, repeated later in Neo-Assyrian records and it was also known in ancient Egyptian as Keftiu, strongly suggesting a similar Minoan name for the island. The current name of Crete is thought to be first attested in Mycenaean Greek texts written in Linear B, through the words
7.
Jewish quarter (diaspora)
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In the Jewish diaspora, a Jewish quarter is the area of a city traditionally inhabited by Jews. Jewish quarters, like the Jewish ghettos in Europe, were often the outgrowths of segregated ghettos instituted by the surrounding Christian authorities, a Yiddish term for a Jewish quarter or neighborhood is Di yiddishe gas, or The Jewish quarter. While in Ladino, they are known as maalé yahudí, meaning The Jewish quarter, many European and Middle Eastern cities once had a historical Jewish quarter and some still have it. Jewish quarters in Europe existed for a number of reasons, from the Jewish point of view, concentration of Jews within a limited area offered a level of protection from outside influences or mob violence. In many cases, residents had their own justice system, the areas chosen usually consisted of the most undesirable areas of a city. In the 19th century, Jewish ghettos were progressively abolished, and their walls taken down, though areas of Jewish concentration continued. In some cities, Jewish quarters refer to areas which historically had concentrations of Jews, for example, many maps of Spanish towns mark a Jewish Quarter, though Spain hasnt had a significant Jewish population for over 500 years. According to USHMM archives, The Germans established at least 1,000 ghettos in German-occupied and annexed Poland, india Kochi - Jew Town, traditional Cochin Jewish district and location of the spice market. A walk in the old Jewish Quarter of Pest
8.
Talavera de la Reina
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Talavera de la Reina is a city and municipality in the western part of the province of Toledo, which in turn is part of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, Spain. It is the second-largest population center in Castile–La Mancha and its population of 83,793 makes it larger than the city of Toledo, although the latter remains the provincial capital. The city is settled along the river Tagus at a broad bank, there are two islands in the center of the city called Isla Grande and Chamelo Island. The city is surrounded by two ranges of mountains, in the north the Sierra de San Vicente, and in the south Montes de Toledo, the city is divided in two by the river Tagus. The northern part is the larger and more populated, both parts are connected by three bridges, one of them built in the Middle Ages, overall the climate is slightly warmer than Madrid. The area is fertile with Mediterranean forests, elms, olive trees. The city is known for its ceramics, which Philip II of Spain used as tiled revetments in many of his works. The nickname of Talavera de la Reina is The City of Pottery, mexicos famous Talavera pottery was named after the city. There are remnants of prehistoric cultures in the area, the village was founded by the Celts as a ford of the Tagus. The first mention of the city occurs in Livys description of a battle between the Romans and the Carpetanoi, a Celtiberian tribe and its modern name is derived from Talabayra, the Muslim rendering of this Visigothic name. The city was conquered by Muslim forces in 713 and conquered by Christian forces under Alfonso VI of Castile in 1083, Talavera de la Reina was founded at the confluence of the rivers Alberche and Tagus. This area of great wealth was the settlement of Celtic people who built the most ancient ruins of the area. During the time of the Roman Empire the name of the city was Caesarobriga, the leader Viriato, in his war against the Romans, lived in this territory between 145 and 139 BCE. In this period Talavera de la Reina was a city with cattle markets. Christianity came early to the city, and with the fall of the Western Roman Empire the Visigoths established in the city, Talavera was known then as or. In honour of the goddess Ceres, Talaverian Romans celebrated the festival called Mondas. The Muslims conquered Talavera in 712 and they built new walls and a castle in Talavera. They also brought the use of fountains, water mills and new products brought from Africa, the fertile soil produced quality vegetables, fruits and grass for animal feed
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Province of Toledo
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Toledo is a province of central Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. It is bordered by the provinces of Madrid, Cuenca, Ciudad Real, Badajoz, Cáceres, of the provinces 711,228 people, only about 1/9 live in the capital, Toledo, which is also capital of the autonomous community. The most populated city in the province is Talavera de la Reina with 88,755 inhabitants, the smallest municipality in Spain, Illán de Vacas, with a population of 8, is in Toledo province. See List of municipalities in Toledo, the province shares the Parque Nacional de Cabañeros with Ciudad Real province. The eagle is flanked by the pillars of Hercules, kingdom of Toledo Toledo, Spain Media related to Province of Toledo at Wikimedia Commons
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Museum of El Greco
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The Museum of El Greco is located on the edge of the village of Fodele in Crete, west of the city of Heraklion. It celebrates the mannerist painter El Greco, who grew up in the village, the museum is located around 1km from the centre of Fodele opposite a chapel and contains copies of works by and documents associated with El Greco. The original building was in a state but was restored from 1982 onwards through a grant by the Greek Ministry of Culture. The museum opened to the public in 1998, the village of Fodele is claimed as the birthplace of El Greco, but this is disputed. The museum claims to be where El Greco was born, the Historical Museum of Crete in Heraklion not far away includes two original works by El Greco, the only original works by the artist in Crete. El Greco Museum, Toledo, Spain Museum website
11.
Landmark
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A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to structures or features. In old English the word landmearc was used to describe a set up to mark the boundaries of a kingdom, estate. 1560, this understanding of landmark was replaced by a general one. A landmark became an object in a landscape. A landmark literally meant a geographic feature used by explorers and others to find their way back or through an area. For example, the Table Mountain near Cape Town, South Africa is used as the landmark to sailors to navigate around southern tip of Africa during the Age of Exploration. Artificial structures are sometimes built to assist sailors in naval navigation. The Lighthouse of Alexandria and Colossus of Rhodes are ancient structures built to lead ships to the port, in modern usage, a landmark includes anything that is easily recognizable, such as a monument, building, or other structure. In American English it is the term used to designate places that might be of interest to tourists due to notable physical features or historical significance. Landmarks in the British English sense are often used for casual navigation and this is done in American English as well. In urban studies as well as in geography, a landmark is furthermore defined as a point of reference that helps orienting in a familiar or unfamiliar environment. Landmarks are often used in verbal route instructions and as such an object of study by linguists as well as in fields of study. Landmarks are usually classified as either natural landmarks or man-made landmarks, a variant is a seamark or daymark, a structure usually built intentionally to aid sailors navigating featureless coasts. Natural landmarks can be characteristic features, such as mountains or plateaus, examples of natural landmarks are Table Mountain in South Africa, Mount Ararat in Turkey, Uluru in Australia, Mount Fuji in Japan and Grand Canyon in the United States. Trees might also serve as landmarks, such as jubilee oaks or conifers. Some landmark trees may be nicknamed, examples being Queens Oak, church spires and mosques minarets are often very tall and visible from many miles around, thus often serve as built landmarks. Also town hall towers and belfries often have a landmark character, cultural heritage management National landmark National symbol Media related to Landmarks at Wikimedia Commons
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Puerta Bab al-Mardum
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The Puerta Bab al-Mardum, or Puerta de Valmardón, is a city gate of Toledo, Spain. It was built in the 10th century and is probably the oldest gate of the city and its name mardum is Arabic for blocked up. Perhaps because its function was taken over by the Puerta del Sol, the Spanish name Valmardón is a rough, phonetic imitation of the Arabic. Mezquita Bab al-Mardum is another name for the nearby Mosque of Cristo de la Luz, castilla-La Mancha, Descubre u siente Page at Archnet
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Puerta de Bisagra Nueva
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The Puerta de Bisagra Nueva is the best known city gate of Toledo, Spain. The gate is of Moorish origin, but the part was built in 1559 by Alonso de Covarrubias. It carries the coat of arms of the emperor Charles V and it superseded the Puerta Bisagra Antigua as the main entrance to the city
14.
World Heritage Site
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A World Heritage Site is a landmark which has been officially recognized by the United Nations, specifically by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Sites are selected on the basis of having cultural, historical, scientific or some form of significance. UNESCO regards these sites as being important to the interests of humanity. The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common culture, under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the Worlds Cultural and Natural Heritage, since then,192 state parties have ratified the convention, making it one of the most adhered to international instruments. As of July 2016,1052 sites are listed,814 cultural,203 natural, in 1959, the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested UNESCO to assist their countries to protect and rescue the endangered monuments and sites. In 1960, the Director-General of UNESCO launched an appeal to the Member States for an International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, the campaign, which ended in 1980, was considered a success. The project cost $80 million, about $40 million of which was collected from 50 countries, the projects success led to other safeguarding campaigns, saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia. UNESCO then initiated, with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the United States initiated the idea of cultural conservation with nature conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in 1968, the Convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of June 2016, it has been ratified by 192 states, including 188 UN member states plus the Cook Islands, the Holy See, Niue, a country must first list its significant cultural and natural sites, the result is called the Tentative List. A country may not nominate sites that have not been first included on the Tentative List, next, it can place sites selected from that list into a Nomination File. The Nomination File is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and these bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. There are ten selection criteria – a site must meet at least one of them to be included on the list, up to 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so there is now only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of outstanding value and meet at least one of the ten criteria. Thus, the Geneva Convention treaty promulgates, Article 53, PROTECTION OF CULTURAL OBJECTS AND OF PLACES OF WORSHIP. There are 1,052 World Heritage Sites located in 165 States Party, of these,814 are cultural,203 are natural and 35 are mixed properties
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