{"id":2714,"date":"2014-11-12T08:56:52","date_gmt":"2014-11-12T08:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.spainexchange.com\/?p=2714"},"modified":"2026-10-09T14:01:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T14:01:28","slug":"taller-del-moro-toledo-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spainexchange.com\/articles\/taller-del-moro-toledo-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"Taller del Moro, Toledo, Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Taller del Moro is a small museum in the old town of Toledo, set in the surviving hall of a 14th-century noble house. This post explains what the building is, what is on show, and when and how to visit.<\/p>\n

What the Taller del Moro is<\/h2>\n

The Museo Taller del Moro<\/a> is a state-owned museum managed by the region of Castilla-La Mancha. It is a branch of the Museo de Santa Cruz. It stands in Calle Taller del Moro, next to the Palacio de Fuensalida, which is the seat of the regional government.<\/p>\n

The building dates from the 14th century. According to the regional culture department, it was part of one of the large houses that the nobility of Toledo built in the 14th and 15th centuries. It was probably built by Lope Gonz\u00e1lez Palomeque and Mayor T\u00e9llez de Meneses, lords of Villaverde between 1346 and 1349. Later it was used as a convent and as a stone and masonry workshop. That last use explains the name: taller<\/em> is the Spanish word for workshop.<\/p>\n

The building was declared a historic and artistic monument in 1931. The Spanish state bought it in 1959 and opened it to the public as a museum in 1963.<\/p>\n

Architecture<\/h2>\n

Toledo’s tourist board describes the Taller del Moro as the best example of palace architecture of its period in the city. What remains is one wing of the house, with three rooms: a central hall and a smaller room at each end. The layout follows the model of Al-Andalus, a large rectangular hall with an alcove on each side.<\/p>\n

All three rooms have wooden ceilings. The door and window openings and the high interior walls keep much of their painted plasterwork. The decoration is in the Hispano-Muslim tradition, with geometric patterns, plant motifs and Arabic inscriptions, together with heraldic symbols of the owners. It is one of the clearest places in Toledo to see Mudejar decoration, the style in which Islamic forms continued under Christian rule.<\/p>\n

The collection<\/h2>\n

The museum shows decorative arts from Toledo in the tradition of Al-Andalus. The pieces that the museum itself highlights include:<\/p>\n