San Pedro de la Mata
Encyclopedia
The ruins of S. Pedro de la Mata are located in the middle of the countryside, at about 3 km southwest of the village (pedanía) of Casalgordo, in the municipality of Sonseca
(province of Toledo
, Castile-La Mancha
, Spain
). The place can be reached by a dirty road starting west of the church of Casalgordo. Nowadays S. Pedro de la Mata is completely in ruins, but the original foundations of a church can be clearly seen because they are dig in a large and quite flat granite boulder embedded in the soil. Actually, S. Pedro de la Mata is a kind of semi-cave construction. Some fragments of walls and a couple of archs can also be seen, but it is uncertain whether they are original or not. Appears in some publications as San Pedro de Arisgotas or Casalgordo for nearby towns.
The present ruins are believed to originally correspond to the church of a monastery of those that grew, promoted by the nobility, around the capital city of the Visigoth
kingdom of Toledo, similar to the case of Santa María de Melque
not far from S. Pedro de la Mata. This origin allow us to date the first church between 589 (conversion of visigothic nobility to catholicism
) and 711 (takeover of the visigothic kingdom by Muslim invasion).
In the close village (pedanía) of Arisgotas, municipality of Orgaz
, there is a small visogothic "museum" that essentially consist on carved stones that were looted from S. Pedro and surroundings by the local inhabitants for use as construction materials. In the last years, many of this visigothic stones have been extracted from the walls of the village houses and deposited in the "museum".
Sonseca
Sonseca is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the municipality has a population of 10685 inhabitants. In Sonseca there are some very famous marzipan's factories: Delaviuda, Donaire....
(province of Toledo
Toledo (province)
Toledo is a province of central Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. It is bordered by the provinces of Madrid, Cuenca, Ciudad Real, Badajoz, Cáceres, and Ávila....
, Castile-La Mancha
Castile-La Mancha
Castile-La Mancha is an autonomous community of Spain. Castile-La Mancha is bordered by Castile and León, Madrid, Aragon, Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia, and Extremadura. It is one of the most sparsely populated of Spain's autonomous communities...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
). The place can be reached by a dirty road starting west of the church of Casalgordo. Nowadays S. Pedro de la Mata is completely in ruins, but the original foundations of a church can be clearly seen because they are dig in a large and quite flat granite boulder embedded in the soil. Actually, S. Pedro de la Mata is a kind of semi-cave construction. Some fragments of walls and a couple of archs can also be seen, but it is uncertain whether they are original or not. Appears in some publications as San Pedro de Arisgotas or Casalgordo for nearby towns.
The present ruins are believed to originally correspond to the church of a monastery of those that grew, promoted by the nobility, around the capital city of the Visigoth
Visigoth
The Visigoths were one of two main branches of the Goths, the Ostrogoths being the other. These tribes were among the Germans who spread through the late Roman Empire during the Migration Period...
kingdom of Toledo, similar to the case of Santa María de Melque
Santa María de Melque
Santa María de Melque is a church in the border municipality of San Martín de Montalbán in the province of Toledo , 30 km south of the capital, and equidistant from the towns of La Puebla de Montalbán and Gálvez, between the brook Ripas and the river Torcón, a tributary of the river Tagus.Of...
not far from S. Pedro de la Mata. This origin allow us to date the first church between 589 (conversion of visigothic nobility to catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
) and 711 (takeover of the visigothic kingdom by Muslim invasion).
In the close village (pedanía) of Arisgotas, municipality of Orgaz
Orgaz
Orgaz is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the municipality has a population of 2732 inhabitants. El Greco's painting "The Burial of the Count of Orgaz" features Don Gonzalo Ruíz, native of Toledo and Señor of the town of...
, there is a small visogothic "museum" that essentially consist on carved stones that were looted from S. Pedro and surroundings by the local inhabitants for use as construction materials. In the last years, many of this visigothic stones have been extracted from the walls of the village houses and deposited in the "museum".