The Church of St Leocadia (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Iglesia de Santa Leocadia'') is a medieval church located in Toledo, in 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 ...

History

Toledan tradition maintains that this church was built on the site of the house where Saint Leocadia of Toledo was born. This house supposedly had a small underground room, where it is affirmed that she prayed. This cave corresponds to the crypt located next to the right pillar of the presbytery and is covered with a plaster rib vault, which can be dated to the first half of the 16th century. Both the present church and the tower are in the Toledan variant of 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 and are datable, in their older parts, to the end of the 13th century. However, there is reason to assume that there existed an earlier building. The parish of "Santa Leocadia within Toledo" (see note) is mentioned in documents from the middle of the 12th century. In the tower and on the façade of the church are preserved, embedded, some fragments of reliefs in

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 ...

style. There are only references to think that the primitive arrangement was that of an isolated building, separated from the Monastery of Santo Domingo el Antiguo by a street that was suppressed, in times of

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, ; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, Kingdom of León, León and Kingdom of Galicia, Galicia from 1 June 1252 until his death in 1284. During the April 1257 Imperial election, election of 1 ...

, when extending that convent.

Notes

:1.The denomination "within Toledo" differentiates it from another church, with the same name, "next to the

alcázar An ''alcázar'', from Arabic ''al-Qasr'', is a type of Islamic castle or palace in Spain built during Al-Andalus, Muslim rule between the 8th and 15th centuries. They functioned as homes and regional capitals for governmental figures throughout ...

", built in the place where the saint was in prison, and the basilica outside the

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with to ...

, known as Cristo de la Vega, where she was buried.

References

External links

{{Tourism in Toledo Toledo Toledo Roman Catholic churches in Toledo, Spain Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the City of Toledo