The “Patios de Toledo” are an annual event in which the history, diversity, and architecture of Toledo (Spain) can be appreciated. This tradition occurs during Corpus Christi in Toledo when many Toledanos open their mansions, free of charge, so that the public can see their patios. The patios are decorated in a spectacular way and the doors open allowing you to discover unique and secret private spaces.
During the “Patios de Toledo” festival in 2022, there were 30 patios that open to the public, in various places in Toledo from June 15 to 18. This festival represents the diverse and significant culture of Toledo. The patios, with Arab and Roman influence, show the mix of cultures in Toledo, identify its history and cultural heritage. At the festival, there are performances of many genres of music in the courtyards, from pop, to flamenco, classical music, Sephardic music, choirs, and storytelling.
Every year, there is a contest between the patios of Toledo. This tradition of judging the patios began in 2000, at the initiative of a Local Heritage Committee or Forum, and under the auspices of the AVEC Project (Alliance of European Cities of Culture), together with many citizens of Toledo, it began with the intention to preserve and celebrate the unique culture of Toledo. This contest represents the mobilization and unification of many people from Toledo, for a common cause. It is a very strong example of the importance of remembering and celebrating the history and culture of a city today. The city of Toledo has created a very fun and dynamic way to preserve a very important aspect of its heritage: the Toledano patio.
In the contest, there are two major prizes, the patio that performs the best celebration of the XXX Anniversary of Toledo City Heritage of Humanity and the best decorated patios with allegories of the Corpus Christi festivity.8 There are five different prizes: the "Patio best preserved architecturally,” the “Conservation of heritage elements,” the “Most creative intervention,” the “Maintenance of the Andalusian structure and conservation of its unique elements,” and “The patio best decorated with allegories of Corpus Christi.”
The patios are evaluated according to the criteria of the jury of the Friends of the Patios of Toledo Association. The composition of the jury is made with members of the Toledo City Council, the Toledo City Consortium, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and Historical Sciences of Toledo, the Royal Foundation of Toledo, the College of Architects of Castilla-La Mancha, the Tulaytula Association and the Toledo Board. Pro Corpus.
There is no doubt that the annual Contests and Contests of the Courtyards of Toledo, is the tip of the iceberg of what the phenomenon of the courtyards in the City of Toledo entails. There are more than one hundred and eighty patios that through the seventeen years of Contests and Contests, have been presented to the public throughout these seventeen years of existence. This is already a significant amount, which would amaze many people, but if we also say that the Friends of the Patios de Toledo Association has located and photographed nearly four hundred patios and to locate and photograph a few more, it is already a more difficult quantity to believe.
From the outset it occurs to us that Toledo should be, The City of Courtyards. We can assure you that there is no city that has more patios than Toledo… I am referring to heritage patios, with cultured architecture, with columns, galleries, footings and corbels, fountains, wells and cisterns, dating back to the 14th and 19th centuries (modernist), not 3x3 vents like in modern buildings.
Well, it's true, all those patios are in the Historic Center of the City of Toledo, a World Heritage Site. But the annual Contests and Contests do not finish taking off. The local and visiting public live it and look forward to it every year, many artists act selflessly in the courtyards during the Contests, the media spread from the rooftops all the events that originate these Contests, but the Administrations do not They end up supporting the Association, as according to these numbers they should be interested..
Of all these patios the most beautiful are official like the following:
And of the unofficial ones to whom I would give the award in the 2022 edition, it would be these 5:
There are different styles of patio found in Toledo. According to the Toledan Professor, D. Guillermo Téllez, a great scholar of the Toledo house, in his essay “La Casa Toledana,” there is Arabic, Gothic, Mudejar, Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical influence in the courtyards of Toledo, each with different characteristics.4 Téllez has chosen a specific and archetypal example of each style of patio, some are in Toledo, and the others are from other places in Spain. You can see the different styles through a series of characteristics: the shape and dimensions, the galleries, the footings, the pillars, the height, and the right feet are some examples.
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