Museo del Greco

You are now in front of the Museo del Greco, in the heart of the old Jewish quarter of Toledo. But this place has a history that began long before the museum and long before Greco himself. The museum occupies part of the site where, in the 14th century, the great palace of Samuel ha-Leví Abulafia, treasurer of King Pedro I and the man who ordered the construction of the nearby Tránsito Synagogue, stood. From that medieval complex, several vaulted brick galleries that were part of the basements and semi-basements of the palace are still preserved under the museum. Now look in front of the museum. There you will find the bust of Samuel ha-Leví, made in bronze by the sculptor Rosa Hidalgo in 2002. But there is something important: we do not know the true face of Samuel ha-Leví. Therefore, you should understand the image in front of you as an artistic interpretation, not as a historical portrait. His presence here reminds us that, more than six centuries ago, this was the place where his residence was located, in front of the synagogue that he himself had ordered to be built. And now, we arrive at El Greco. Although for a long time this place was known as the “Casa del Greco”, the painter never lived in this building. The museum was created at the beginning of the 20th century to recover his figure and today preserves some of the works from the last period of Doménikos Theotokópoulos in Toledo. If you decide to enter,…

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