Paris1972-Versailles2003

Many times visited Toledo over the years, and of course, never enough written on it, I do have several posts on the city of Toledo. I have decided to update this older post and split the army and hospital museums with a post of its own, Therefore,I will try to tell you a bit on the Hospital de Tavera museum of Toledo, but first a bit about the city’s location, good by train and already a post on that over the years the car is my second home.Hope you enjoy it so much as I in my lovely Toledo and dear Castilla La Mancha !

Toledo is about 71 km (about 44 miles) from Madrid. From Toledo part the N-400, which connects this city with Cuenca by Ocaña and Tarancón.  There is now an excellent  A-40 Autovia or highway of Castilla-La Mancha, that unites Avila with Maqueda (where it links with the Extremadura highway), Toledo, Ocaña (where it joins the highway of Andalusia), Tarancón (where it connects with the highway of Levante, Madrid-Valencia), Cuenca and Teruel. A former national road 401 Madrid-Toledo-Ciudad Real was transformed at the end of the decade of 1980 in the current A-42.

The Hospital of San Juan Bautista or Tavera  (as I know it) is one of the most beautiful and representative monuments of the Spanish Renaissance that, in addition, exhibits, in a palatial atmosphere, an extraordinary pictorial, sculptural and movable collection of the Golden Age and the only hospital pharmacy of that time preserved entirely.  The first completely classic building in Castilla, also known as Tavera or outskirts hospital, because it is located outside the city, in front of the Bisagra gate, was born in the 16C with a double function: hospital for “the headdresses of different diseases ”and pantheon of its founder, Cardinal Juan Pardo Tavera. Its construction opens, in 1540, the program of architectural and urban renewal that the circle of humanists who surrounded the Emperor Carlos V projected to adapt the image of Toledo to his role as Imperial Capital.   This building began to be built in 1541.

The museum exhibits, in addition to an important collection of Flemish furniture and tapestries from the 16-17C, the aforementioned art gallery that gathers works by El Greco, Luca Giordano, Zurbarán, Tintoretto, Pantoja de la Cruz, Carreño de Miranda, Sánchez Coello, etc. In the museum there is a large archive of documents and numerous artistic works of great value are preserved: paintings by El Greco, Ribera, Tintoretto, Luca Giordano, Tiziano, Snyders and Jacopo Bassano, among others. They stand out one of the few portraits painted by Zurbarán and a copy of Carlos V on horseback in Mühlberg, of Tiziano (Prado Museum), painted by Sánchez Coello. Equally exceptional is the sculpture of the Risen Christ, by El Greco. In addition, it houses the building of the old pharmacy of the hospital. The unique spatial richness of the Tavera Hospital is evidenced in its courtyards, in the long bays of the old infirmary, church, sacristy, crypt allowing us to enjoy the beauty of the works of art that it treasures as the Sepulcher of Cardinal Tavera, work of Alonso de Berruguete, or the altarpiece of the Church, iconographic project of El Greco.

The Tavera Hospital building also houses the Historical Archive of the Nobility, a center under the Ministry of Culture and Sports (Government of Spain). In 1988, the State signed an agreement with the Ducal House of Medinaceli, owner of the building, whereby a part of it was ceded to house the Nobility Section of the National Historical Archive, which began operating in 1993 in its new offices, through the transfer of various noble funds that were guarded in the National Historical Archive. Since 2017, this center has been called the Historical Archive of the Nobility. It houses 270 noble archives, whose consultation is free, from Monday to Friday from 8h30 to 14h30. You can also visit their exhibitions.

The Min of Culture and Sports on the Historical Archive of the Nobility : https://www.culturaydeporte.gob.es/cultura/areas/archivos/mc/archivos/nhn/portada.html

The Toledo tourist office on the Duque de Lerma, Tavera Hospital museum: https://turismo.toledo.es/recursos/id1502-museo-duque-de-lerma–hospital-de-tavera-o-de-san-juan-bautista.html

The Medicinali Foundation on the hospital San Juan Bautista :http://en.fundacionmedinaceli.org/monumentos/hospital/index.aspx

The Castilla La Mancha regional tourist office on the Hospital Tavera Duque de Lema foundation : http://en.www.turismocastillalamancha.es/patrimonio/hospital-de-tavera-museo-fundacion-duque-de-lerma-8361/descripcion/

In addition, several films were done here !! Some of my favorites over the years are El Halcon (hawk)de Castilla of 1965, La Folie des Grandeurs of 1971 with Louis de Funes, and Yves Montant ! , Los Tres Mosqueteros (3 musketeers) of 1973 with Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Richard Chamberlain, Charlon Heston and Geraldine Chaplin : Teresa de Jésus of 1984 with Concha Velasco ! And El Puente de San Luis Rey of 2004 with Robert De Niro, Katie Bates, and Harvey Keitel ! Sublimes !!

There you go folks, a nice off the beaten path Hospital de Tavera museum in gorgeous Toledo and my dear Castilla La Mancha, hope you enjoy it as I,

And remember, happy travel, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

Many times visited Toledo over the years, and of course, never enough written on it, I do have several posts on the city of Toledo.  I have decided to update this older post and split the army and hospital museums with a post of its own, Therefore, I will try to tell you a bit on the fortress museum Alcazar of Toledo, (see post on the Alcazar) but first a bit about the city’s location, good by train and already a post on that over the years the car is my second home. Hope you enjoy it so much as I in my lovely Toledo and dear Castilla La Mancha !

Toledo is about 71 km (about 44 miles) from Madrid. From Toledo part the N-400, which connects this city with Cuenca by Ocaña and Tarancón.  There is now an excellent  A-40 Autovia or highway of Castilla-La Mancha, that unites Avila with Maqueda (where it links with the Extremadura highway), Toledo, Ocaña (where it joins the highway of Andalusia), Tarancón (where it connects with the highway of Levante, Valencia), Cuenca and Teruel. A former national road 401 Madrid-Toledo-Ciudad Real was transformed at the end of the decade of 1980 in the current A-42.

The Alcazar rebuilt in the 20C with traces going back to the 16C, and now housing since 2010 the Museo del Ejercito or Army Museum, another must to see in town. The Army Museum of Spain, is the result of the merger of various military museums created throughout the 19C and early 20C. Its founding nucleus is constituted by that of Artillery and Engineers.

In 1803, at the request of Godoy (prime minister of Spain), the Royal Military Museum was created in Madrid, the most remote antecedent of the current Army Museum. It is one of the oldest Spanish museums and responds to the interest in Europe of the time for the conservation and dissemination of objects related to military history. Organically it depends on the Institute of Military History and Culture of the Army. The main areas here which is vast to cover on this post are the Old Tercios (army third battalions of Spain), the Royal Room ,Archaeological Remains, the Puerta de Covarrubias gate , the Courtyard of Carlos V , and my favorite the history of artillery. 

The min of defense on the official Army museum: https://ejercito.defensa.gob.es/museo/en/index.html?__locale=en

The Toledo tourist office on the Army museum : https://turismo.toledo.es/recursos/museos-y-monumentos/id611-museo-del-ejercito–alcazar-de-toledo.html

The Castilla La Mancha regional tourist office on the army museum :http://en.www.turismocastillalamancha.es/patrimonio/museo-del-ejercito-alcazar-de-toledo-2661/descripcion/

There you go folks, a nice introduction to the fortress army museum of Alcazar in gorgeous Toledo and my dear Castilla La Mancha of Spain. This is a must see in town.  Hope you enjoy it as I

And remember, happy travel, good health, and many cheers to all !!!