San Ildefonso (Toledo)
The Church of San Ildefonso is located in the center of the former Spanish capital Toledo and was founded by the Jesuit order , the main supporter of the Counter-Reformation in Europe. The square is also considered the birthplace of St. Ildefons of Toledo , who held the office of archbishop here from 657–667 .
history
As early as 1569, the Jesuit order had acquired a plot of land for a new church in the former Spanish capital Toledo. However, the start of construction work was delayed until 1629 and a short time later the responsible architect Pedro Sánchez died ; he was replaced in 1633 by Francisco Bautista , who was still working on parts of the facade. The facade clad with natural stones and the two brick west towers were not completed until 1669 . The still unfinished church building was consecrated in 1718, but its completion took until 1765. Two years later the Jesuits were expelled from Spain ( abolition of the Jesuit order ). The church building was restored in the 1990s.
architecture
construction materials
The entire church building is - like the earlier church buildings in Toledo - made of bricks; only the pre-blinded facade consists of precisely hewn natural stones. The interior of the church is completely covered or designed with stucco .
Layout
The plan of the church corresponds to that of a Latin cross ; thus, like the mother church of the Jesuit order Il Gesù in Rome (1568–1584), it adjoins the pre-Reformation church architecture.
facade
Although there are certain similarities to the Roman mother church, the two-storey facade of San Ildefonso is much more plastic and decorative - the eight pillars arranged on two levels and the larger number of niches and relief fields contribute to this. Instead of the Roman triangular gable , there is a niche top with a figure of the order's founder Ignatius of Loyola, accompanied by side balustrades . The two towers are remarkable and hardly conceivable in the Roman architecture of the time, which develop - overall harmoniously - from the two lower sides of the facade, but appear somehow strange and incomplete due to their brick construction.
inner space
The vaulted single-nave nave of the church is accompanied by eight side chapels with a balcony above . It is kept in light white overall and is structured by pilasters between which there are niches with figures. In a richly landscaped baroque towers console frieze of stucco into the room. Above the crossing a four rises pendentives resting and an exposed Tambour increased dome with final lantern . Two transept arms connect to the side.
Furnishing
apse
The rear wall of the apse shows a painted appearance architecture , in the middle of which a large rectangular fresco with the representation of the by Maria personally carried out over of the garment to the Bishop hl. Ildefons, who appears again in a bishop's robe in a tondo above . Two black-clad Jesuit brothers standing in the lower area between two columns are also painted. The canopy-like altarpiece, accompanied by two golden angel figures, conceals large parts of the central fresco.
Side chapels
In the side chapels there are several impressive altarpieces in the style of Churriguerism, which was modern at the time of their creation (18th century) . There are further altarpieces in the two arms of the transept.
Crossing dome
Central apse
Altarpiece in a side chapel
Altarpiece in a side chapel
Web links
- Iglesia San Ildefonso, Toledo - floor plan, photos + information (Spanish)
- Iglesia San Ildefonso, apse frescoes - photos + information (Spanish)
- Iglesia San Ildefonso, bells - photos + information (Spanish)
Coordinates: 39 ° 51 '30 " N , 4 ° 1' 34" W.