The Iglesia de San Román is a church in Toledo ( Castile-La Mancha,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

). The church was built in the

Mudéjar Mudéjar were Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period following the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for Mudéjar art, which was greatly influenced by Islamic art, but produced typically by Christian craftsmen for C ...

style in the 13th century. On this site there was an old

Visigothic The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...

structure and probably an ancient Roman building. The building is protected by a heritage listing. It currently houses a Visigothic museum, the "Museum of the Councils and Visigothic Culture" (the councils in question are the

Councils of Toledo From the 5th century to the 7th century AD, about thirty synods, variously counted, were held at Toledo (''Concilia toletana'') in what would come to be part of Spain. The earliest, directed against Priscillianism, assembled in 400. The "thir ...

, the earliest of which assembled in 400).

History and description

It is located in one of the highest places of the city, on the second of the twelve hills that form it. There is already news of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in the 12th century and the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

would be consecrated in 1221 by the archbishop Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada. Tradition indicates that in it Alfonso VIII was crowned king of Castile on 26 August 1166. The church presents a

floor plan In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a structure. Dimensio ...

with three naves separated by

horseshoe arch The horseshoe arch (; ), also called the Moorish arch and the keyhole arch, is a type of arch in which the circular curve is continued below the horizontal line of its diameter, so that the opening at the bottom of the arch is narrower than the ar ...

es with

alfiz The alfiz (, from Andalusi Arabic ''alḥíz'', from Standard Arabic ''alḥáyyiz'', meaning 'the container';Al ...

that are supported on pillars. Visigoth and Roman columns attached to capitals are reused from Visigothic origins in some cases, distinguishing themselves by its Corinthian leaves. Throughout the 13th century a new apse was constructed and the robust

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

was built (of Toledan

Mudéjar style Mudéjar were Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period following the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for Mudéjar art, which was greatly influenced by Islamic art, but produced typically by Christian craftsmen for Chri ...

, with its two upper storeys forming a double

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

and with window openings in groups of two and three, and that would serve as a model for other Toledan towers); In addition to being realized the

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s to the

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

Romanesque painting Romanesque art is the art of Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 12th century, or later depending on region. The preceding period is known as the Pre-Romanesque period. The term was invented by 19th-centur ...

figurative combined with typically Mudéjar decorations. Of great beauty, these are considered the most southern of Spain. The frescoes are divided into two areas separated by inscriptions. They emphasize the four winged evangelists and the representations of archbishops, the saints

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

and Lawrence, angels or the Final Judgment. In the 16th century, Alonso de Covarrubias designed the apse with

Plateresque Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" (''plata'' being silver in Spanish language, Spanish), was an artistic movement, especially Architecture, architectural, developed in Spanish Empire, Spain and its territories, which appeared ...

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, al ...

s in the main

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

and later covered the paintings, which lost its traces until the first third of the 20th century in which these were rediscovered. It was not until the 1940s that these were recovered where possible. File:Iglesia de San Román (Toledo). Capilla Mayor.jpg, Interior, main chapel. File:Iglesia de San Román (Toledo). Nave central.jpg, Interior, opposite view. File:Iglesia de San Román (Toledo). Nave de la Epístola, pinturas.jpg, Nave of the Epistle File:Iglesia de San Román (Toledo). Nave principal.jpg, Presbytery

References

External links

*Sacred destination

*ArteHistori

*Turismo Castilla Manch

*Círculo Románico
Characteristic of Mozarabic and Romanesque wall paintings, Iglesia de San Roman, Toledo

''Iglesia de San Román''.
In Tourism of Castilla-La Mancha. Consulted: June 18, 2011.
Museum of Councils and Visigothic Culture
in the same website. {{DEFAULTSORT:San Roman, Toledo Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the City of Toledo Toledo Romanesque architecture in Castilla–La Mancha Romanesque art Former mosques in Spain Museums in Toledo, Spain

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Buildings and structures completed in 1221 Churches completed in the 1220s 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain