The historic city of Toledo sits atop a steep-cragged rock, around which the Tajo or Tagus river slowly meanders. This strategic position together with abundant water, forests, grazing and arable lands in the surrounding areas gives much value to the city, and has always favoured its use as a permanent human settlement since prehistoric times.
Toledo is known as The City of the Three Cultures, a name which refers to the Christian, Islamic, and Hebrew cultures that coexisted during centuries within its walls, impregnating it with its own special identity. This almost brotherly union and plurality of traditions can best be seen in the architecture, where the customary artistic styles of each one are interwoven, exchanging influences and forming hybrids with their own personalities. The Mudejar style, a mixture of Islamic and Christian styles, predominates in the city, combining principally Romanesque structures and purely Muslim elements.