San Pedro de la Mata is a ruined medieval church in the municipality of
Sonseca
Sonseca is a municipality in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain.
According to the 2006 census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. ...
(
province of Toledo,
Castile-La Mancha,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
). It is located in the middle of the countryside, at about 3 km southwest of the village (''pedanía'') of Casalgordo.
History
The building was remodelled early in its history, and because of the existence of different phases the dating of its features is problematic. According to traditional historiography, it was originally the church of a monastery, one of those that grew, promoted by the nobility, around the capital city of the Visigothic
Kingdom of Toledo
The Kingdom of Toledo ( es, Reino de Toledo) was a realm in the central Iberian Peninsula, created after the capture of Toledo by Alfonso VI of León in 1085. It continued in existence until 1833; its region is currently within Spain.
Bac ...
, similar to the case of
Santa María de Melque Santa María de Melque is a church in the province of Toledo in Spain. It has been described as the biggest fully vaulted early medieval church still standing in Western Europe.
It is located in the municipality of San Martín de Montalbán, equid ...
not far from S. Pedro de la Mata. Such an origin would allow us to date the first church between 589 (conversion of Visigothic nobility to
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
) and 711 (takeover of the Visigothic kingdom by
Muslim invasion). On the other hand, current thinking tends to view the site in the context of
Mozarabic art and architecture
Mozarabic art refers to art of Mozarabs (from ''musta'rab'' meaning “Arabized”), Iberian Christians living in Al-Andalus, the Muslim conquered territories in the period that comprises from the Arab invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (711) to ...
, that is post-711.
Conservation
The original foundations of a church, a granite platform, can be clearly seen. Some fragments of walls and a couple of arches also remain.
The site was given protection in the 1931 under Spanish legislation. It is listed as ''Ermita de San Pedro de la Mata''.
Its state has recently given cause for concern, according to the Spanish heritage organisation Hispania Nostra.
In the 21st century San Pedro de la Mata was proposed for
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
status along with nine other Mozarabic sites.
The submission was made in 2019 by the
Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport and it was included on a "tentative list" (part of the
nominating process).
Access
The place can be reached by a dirt road starting west of the church of Casalgordo.
Museum collections
In the nearby village (''pedanía'') of
Arisgotas, municipality of
Orgaz
Orgaz is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2012 census, the municipality had a population of 2804 inhabitants, but it has since declined.
Burial of the Count of Orgaz
The town has an a ...
, there is a small Visigothic museum.
The museum's collection include material from San Pedro
and from a Visigothic archaeological site 3 km away called Los Hitos. It features carved stones that were looted by the local inhabitants for use as construction materials. In recent years, many of these Visigothic stones have been extracted from the walls of the village houses and deposited in the collection.
There is material from San Pedro in the
Museum of Santa Cruz in Toledo.
Notes
References
{{Coord, 39, 36, 56, N, 3, 59, 10, W, type:landmark_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title
Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Toledo
Church ruins in Spain
Visigothic architecture