Toledo is a medieval city.
Because the city was constructed in an era when automobiles did not exist, the roads are narrow.
All of the roads run between similar-looking stone walls, making me lose the sense of direction. Only the scenery I see at the end of the road helps me find my way. They are very different from alleyways in Asia with an open atmosphere.
This intense feeling… a sliver of light cuts into a clearly divided space. It gives me an impression that everything is perfectly constructed, which is similar to a striking feeling I get at the moment I step into a cathedral.
Does an existing street scenery create a scenery in one’s mind’s eye, or is it the other way around? I suppose that both sceneries actually overlap each other in multiple layers. A street scenery gradually takes shape through complex accumulations of various changes and events in the natural environment, topography, and various social conditions involving technology, economy among other aspects. There is one thing I always wonder about.
From a long-range perspective, I feel that the actual scenery and the scenery in the mind’s eye of people living there are very similar.
If street scenery and architecture give such significant influence on people’s minds, Japan should probably rethink about them from a broader perspective.
