Escalonilla


Town hall

Santa María Magdalena Church and Town Hall Square

Information about Escalonilla:

Telephone: 925 758 111
Web: https://aytoescalonilla.com/Historia.html
Info:
Email: ayuntamiento@aytoescalonilla.com

Inhabited since Roman times, as evidenced by some tombstones found in the area, there is evidence of continued settlement in the Visigothic and Muslim periods. It was not until the Christian reconquest in the 12th and 13th centuries that this municipality began to take shape and, over the centuries, the town centre took shape, with a predominance of popular architecture and some examples of Renaissance and Baroque styles, represented by the church of Santa María Magdalena and the hermitage of La Soledad.

Practically flat territory with no significant relief, with only a few hills that situate the population centre in a small valley. Although Escalonilla belongs to the hydrological basin of the river Tagus, the village lies between the courses of the Alberche, Guadarrama and the Tagus itself. Even so, it lacks a surface waterway, with only the passage of a few underground streams located along the west of the municipality and close to the so-called Arroyo del Valle stream. Different hiking routes run through its lands that allow the hiker or cyclist to enjoy easy rides contemplating the extensive cultivated fields of the plains of Toledo.

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Parish Church of Santa María Magdalena

Of Renaissance and Baroque stylistic affiliation, chronologically it dates from the last third of the 16th and 17th centuries. The church as a whole dates back to the 16th century, but it has undergone important modifications throughout its history. It seems to have been erected on the same site as another ancient church of smaller proportions than the present one, which was still unfinished in 1583. In any case, it is difficult to know whether what can be seen today in the temple belongs to the works of the end of the 16th century (which may have been designed by Nicolás de Vergara el Mozo, at the time master builder of the Cathedral of Toledo) or those carried out by the Toledo master builder Diego de Benavides as early as 1654. Its Latin cross plan is organised into three long, wide naves with a transept that continues in the apse and transept arms. The parish church logically has a bell tower with two sections and a rectangular floor plan with semicircular openings. The cornice is made of flattened brick, forming several staggered mouldings, and is closed with four skirts. The lower section shows the limit of the primitive masonry, as the second section is of later brick construction. The latter would beautify the tower by giving it greater slenderness and bulk. The general construction of the building is masonry and brick with a rendered plinth simulating ashlars.


Town hall

Of popular stylistic affiliation. It dates back to the 19th century, although it was renovated in 1990. This building is located in the centre of the town, in the Plaza Mayor, to which its main façade is oriented, immediately next to the parish church. Rectangular in plan, it consists of two bodies, the two lateral ones being resolved in the form of towers. It has two heights in the central body and one more in the aforementioned corner towers. The turreted flanks have corner ashlars simulated in brick, with three vertical semicircular arched openings similar to those described above. On the last hole of the left tower is the town clock, which is transformed into a latticed oculus with stained glass in which the polychrome coat of arms of the town is engraved on the right. The two towers are topped with a semicircular pediment and a half-barrel roof. Completed in 1881 to replace the original building, it is shown with a great dignity that obliges us to preserve and maintain it, always respecting its correct brickwork.

Hermitage of La Soledad

The building dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries and has a popular baroque aesthetic affiliation. Located next to the municipal cemetery. The small church of La Soledad has a single nave with a Latin cross plan and barely marked arms that open through semicircular arches and a flat apse. The transept, in turn, is emphasised by means of pilastered supports with capitals. At the main entrance there is a belfry or spire with a semicircular arch that forms the only eye and which is topped with a triangular pediment culminating in an iron cross. The church is built in the Toledan style with white rendering. The roof has a double slope. The hermitage is shown to us as a representative of the popular type of construction activity born in the Tridentine spirit and which would provide such notable examples of Spanish architecture of the period.

Hermitage of La Estrella

It has a popular aesthetic affiliation and its chronology dates from the 20th century. Located about 3 kilometres from the village. It has a square floor plan with a single nave and a flat roof. White plastered Toledo brickwork. The roof is hipped. The hermitage is preceded by a rectangular enclosure. This construction has its significance in the popular devotion of the area. The Virgen de la Estrella, the Cristo de la Luz and San Blas are kept in this hermitage. The hermitage plays a leading role on the day of the Star, which is Easter Monday, with a pilgrimage.