We were back to my dear Spain again !! love it !! We came by car of course and took time to see new areas and old repeat with some of them as introduction to my sons and our dog Rex ! I rented a small house in a off the beaten path country town that was just perfect ! I like to continue the saga of our new road warrior experiences even if now with less in our family, This post is on my latest road warrior tour of wonderful sublime Spain. Therefore, let me tell you about curiosities of Toro !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The town of Toro is in the province of Zamora, Autonomous Community of Castilla y León in the kingdom of Spain, It is located 46 km from our rental house in Velliza, 62 km from Valladolid , 79 km from Salamanca, 148 km from Avila and 221 km from Madrid. The town stands at 722 meters above sea level. The town is crossed by the roads we took, the Autovia del Duero (A-11) that links Zamora provincial capital with Tordesillas. And the national road N-122 the alternative to the above highway, and more local.
The Plaza Mayor on one of its sides is porticated and that is where the hospitality premises are located. Wide, spacious is the social center of the city. In it is the City hall, built in classicist style by one of the courtly architects working for the king, and the Church del Santo Sepulcro, It offers the image of the Castilian portico enclosure where the market of the medieval era was and still is celebrated. It manifies the square the several houses at one floor with balconies in wrought iron. Houses are generally occupied by bars and restaurants. Lively place indeed,You can still see at the end the torre del reloj !
The building that houses the City Hall is located in the Plaza Mayor ,and is a classicist baroque style, was built in 1778 by architect of the court of King Carlos III, Ventura Rodríguez, one of the most important architects of the time, he was appointed architect of the Council of Castilla and member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. In the place where the current building is located, the first City Hall building on January 1, 1761 suffered a fire that caused its reconstruction ,it was originally built between 1554-1556. It is a two -stories with on the ground floor a supporter with five horseshoe arches that protects access to his main door. On the suporter of the second floor ,with a broken balcony, and five windows, framed by twelve columns matched in six groups of two columns each. In the center of the upper cornice, there is a small pediment in which the registration appears: “Casa Consistorial “, and on top the city shield.
The Plaza de Santa Marina, with its banks and landscaped areas, is one of the corners of the city that invites you to enjoy a lively talk or a rest time in the shadow of some of its trees, especially with the arrival of the good weather. At one of its ends, the torre del reloj stands, one of the most emblematic and acquaintances of Toro, whose base is a arc -shaped porch that was formerly one of the city’s doors, specifically, the one known as Puerta del Mercado, called because it gave way to the market that was held in this Plaza de Santa Marina. Currently, the days around June 29, San Pedro’s feast, the supports of the square remain the stage of the Garlic Fair, and in them, the farmers in the area, put their traditional garlic positions. The center of the square is chaired by a statue of Fray Diego de Deza, confessor of Queen Isabel La Católica and according to many historians, who baptized one of the caravels of Columbus with the name of “La Pinta”, referring with that name to a measure of wine used at the time. The Plaza Santa Marina is a beautiful landscaped garden with trees, benches and flowerbeds filled with small color flowers by forming drawings. With porches, among others the palace of the counts of Requena.
The Puerta de Corredera was included in the third walled enclosure of the town of Toro. It was built in 1602 in honor of Felipe III. It is built for decorative purposes, similar to the triumphal arches of imperial Rome, it is built with large blocks of masonry, the arch is half a point and on the triangular pediment is decorated with three balls. Give access/exit to the urban area from the A-11 highway. It is the natural entrance door to the historical center of the town. Passing the door and following everything we will arrive directly to the Puerta del Mercado and to the Plaza de Santa Marina ,
The Palacio de los Condes de Requena was a sumptuous mansion of the Requena counts. It is Gothic style, at the end of the 15C. It has suffered different vicissitudes throughout his history becoming from militia barracks to First College and Second Teaching directed by the Piamenia parents. From the entire palace, the central or cloister patio must be highlighted, in which the hunting scenes predominate and also a curious bullfighting scene in the bullfighter capeating the animal and a gentleman, willing to lacquered it. It shows shields of the Manuel, Ulloa, Carbajal and Manrique families. , Today, only the inner courtyard is preserved since the rest of the building, after being used as a militia barracks, was demolished and rebuilt with its current form. Its facilities house the Municipal Office of Works and Urbanism, the headquarters of the Regulatory Council of the Denomination of Origin Toro, that of the Local Police and the office of Radio Toro, among others.
The Puente de Toro aka Puente Mayor or Puente de Piedra is the oldest of the bridges that cross the Duero River , It is known that in 1194 the town already had a wooden bridge , This bridge, which consists of 22 pointed arches, and is covered with a roadway with large stone slabs. In the Spanish War of Independence, on July 2, 1812, during the withdrawal of the French invasive troops, two of its arches were blown. With this action they intended to avoid the passage of Wellington’s troops. The initial construction was delayed due to a jurisdiction of King Alfonso IX, dated in 1222, in which he declared excused from the same to the master of the bridge. He is known as the Roman Bridge, because in the same place a bridge had to erect the Roman camp of Villalazán with the city of Toro. At the beginning of the 21C, it has no use.
The presence of a palatial architecture, linked to the nobility is also characteristic of the town of Toro, with an abundance of architecture especially of the 16C and 17C, time of splendor of the city. Among which it must be highlighted: the Palace of the Ulloa, the Palace of the Marquises of Santa Cruz de Aguirre, the Palace of the Marquises de Alcañices, the Palace of the Counts of Catre, the Palace of the Monsalve, the Palace of the Nunciature, the Palace of the Marquises of Mota and Condes de Villalonso, the Palace of the Marquises of San Miguel Gros (house of the Balls), the Palace of Ruiz Pazuengo, the Palace of Salazar and Montalvo, the Palace of Verdenoso, the Palace of Samaniego, the Palace of Fonseca, the Palace of Frontaura y Victoria, the palace of the Marquises of Valparaíso (nursery), the Palacio de los Condes de Fuentesaúco, the Palace of Amavizcar, the Palace of López, or the Zapata Palace.
The Castilla y Léon regional tourist office on the stone bridge of Toro: https://www.turismocastillayleon.com/en/heritage-culture/bridges/stone-bridge-major-bridge
The Romanesque in Zamore province on the stone bridge of Toro: https://www.romanicozamora.es/en/monumentos/ver/stone-bridge-or-main-bridge/81
The Romanesque in Zamora province on the Puerta de Corredera of Toro: https://www.romanicozamora.es/en/monumentos/ver/gate-of-la-corredera/180
The Toro tourist office on its heritage: https://www.turismotoro.com/index.php/es/toro-monumental
The Castilla y Léon regional tourist office on Toro: https://www.turismocastillayleon.com/en/heritage-culture/toro
There you go folks , another wonderful nostalgic, sentimental trip to my dear Spain, Do not know when we will be back, we sure will have this trip in our hearts forever, Again, hope you enjoy this post on curiosities of Toro !!! as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 