Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: cimborrio

The town of Toro lies on a plateau above the Duero River about 40 km east of Zamora. In medieval times Toro had some importance. Ferdinand III of Castile was crowned king in Toro in 1230, his wife Elisabeth of Swabia died here five years later. The large collegiate church Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor, whose construction began in 1160 under Alfonso VII, but lasted possibly even until the end of the 13th century. During the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, it was elevated to a collegiate church. The architectural highlight of the church building is the two-story crossing tower (“cimborrio”) with its sixteen-sided floor plan, with four sides being particularly highlighted by round corner towers, which serve both for architectural decoration and for static stabilization. While the corner towers in the lower part hardly have any architectural decoration, the two levels of the central tower with their windows - accompanied by small columns and ending in oriental-looking multi-aisle arches - are designed in exactly the same way. The Zamora Cathedral may have inspired the architects here. Similar crossing towers can also be found in Salamanca and Plasencia.

The town of Toro lies on a plateau above the Duero River about 40 km east of Zamora. In medieval times Toro had some importance. Ferdinand III of Castile was crowned king in Toro in 1230, his wife Elisabeth of Swabia died here five years later. The large collegiate church Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor, whose construction began in 1160 under Alfonso VII, but lasted possibly even until the end of the 13th century. During the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, it was elevated to a collegiate church. The architectural highlight of the church building is the two-story crossing tower (“cimborrio”) with its sixteen-sided floor plan, with four sides being particularly highlighted by round corner towers, which serve both for architectural decoration and for static stabilization. While the corner towers in the lower part hardly have any architectural decoration, the two levels of the central tower with their windows - accompanied by small columns and ending in oriental-looking multi-aisle arches - are designed in exactly the same way. The Zamora Cathedral may have inspired the architects here. Similar crossing towers can also be found in Salamanca and Plasencia.

Already within the 7th century a convent, following the Rule of Saint Colomban, existed here upto the Viking raids. New monastic life flourished, when benefactor Renaud d'Orval donated land to the Abbay Sainte-Trinité in Lessay - and a priory was founded here in the 11th century. The parish church "Sainte-Hélène", erected end of the 11th century, was the priory´s church. The nave is Romanesque, the crossing is probably only a few decades younger. Here are the vaults of the crossing.