The building is considered to be an incomparable example of mudejar art in the city, a combination of techniques inherited from the muslim master builders. Its forest of white columns has for centuries been a symbol of Toledo’s identity and of the history of thejews in the city.
The architecture of Santa María La Blanca is unique and represents mudejar art in an exceptional way in the city, combining muslim techniques with castilian influences from the late middle ages. The octagonal pillars and detailed decoration are reminiscent of almohad and nasrid styles from Granada and Morocco in the 14th century.
Mudejar art
Mudejar art is a uniquely hispanic style that developed between the 12th and 17th centuries in the christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. This style is a unique blend of the two cultures that coexisted in medieval Spain: christian and islamic. It combines elements of romanesque and gothic with ornamental motifs from islamic art.
The mudéjars were muslims who remained in the christian kingdoms after the conquest of their territory. They were allowed to practise Islam, maintain their language and customs, in exchange for paying a tax. The communities into which they were organised were called ‘aljamas’ or ‘morerías’, and had varying degrees of self-government according to their level of subordination to the Christians.
Mudejar art is not colossal like gothic art, but it is peculiar in its character as a frontier between christians and muslims. The main building materials used in Mudéjar art were brick, plaster, ceramics and wood.
The brick, which was not widely used in construction in the past, is the material par excellence in mudéjar art, used for both decorative and constructional purposes. Ceramics were used in exteriors and interiors for the decoration of roofs, wainscoting and flooring. Wood was used in roofs and is one of the most representative elements of mudéjar art.
Mudejar decoration is characterised by the superimposition of christian and muslim elements, including chequering, geometric elements, blind arches, diamond latticework, crosses, fish bones and round or semicircular arches. This style was a reaction against the European styles of the time.
Santa María la Blanca
It is not known exactly when the Main Synagogue of Toledo was built. We only have some data taken from poems and inscriptions that are not directly related to the building. Based on these, some historians say that it could be the New Synagogue of Yosef ben Susán, who died in 1205. Others believe it could be the Al Malikim Synagogue, promoted by David ben Solomon Abi Darham in 1271.
However, most experts today, based on the impressive architecture of the building and archaeological findings, maintain that it is the Major Synagogue of the jewish quarter of Toledo, built at the end of the 12th century by Abraham ibn Alfache, who was advisor and ambassador of Alfonso VIII, a king known for his sympathy towards the jews. This building was rebuilt after a fire in 1250.
Recently, some researchers, seeing the abundant decoration similar to nasrid art, suggest that it may have been built in the 14th century.
The plan of the building is quite peculiar, with the shape of an irregular quadrilateral oriented to the east, something uncommon for the time, with measurements ranging from 26 to 28 meters long and 19 to 23 meters wide. It seems to have been built on previous structures, with modifications to the south and west walls at different stages of construction.
The main entrance, through a large wooden door decorated with mudejar ten-pointed stars, was added in the 19th century renovations and is protected by a tile roof. The whole complex invites contemplation and admiration, as it did for centuries among the jewish people.
The interior is organized in five naves separated by horseshoe arches on octagonal pillars, the central nave being the widest, followed by the lateral and extreme ones. Above these arcades rises a second level of poly-lobed arches on paired columns, originally open but walled up long ago. The naves reach heights of up to 12.50 meters in the central one, 10 meters in the intermediate ones and 7 meters in the extreme ones, covered with larch wood trusses.
The synagogue enclosure is surrounded by a wall that protects an ancient garden full of cypress trees, while the building itself is built with bricks and rammed earth, plastered with lime.
As for the space for women, recent studies suggest that they were located in the side aisles, although it is suggested that originally they may have been at the back of the central nave in a high wooden tribune, now lost. Archaeological research and the mural paintings discovered indicate that after a fire in 1250, an additional section was added to the aisles for this tribune.
As for the ceramics, the interior floor has been intervened in the past and up to two layers prior to the present one from the 19th century have been found. Although the original pavement has not survived, remains of ancient ceramics can still be seen on the pillars, such as small pieces with dry string technique from the 16th century. There are also strips of renaissance pottery between the tiles, while the more modern decorations are abstract in blue and orange on a white background.
This historic site is located in Toledo’s Juderia Mayor, a thriving neighborhood that housed numerous synagogues, rabbinical schools, ritual baths and stores before the expulsion of the Jews in 1492.
