ToLingua - Why Toro?

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Why Toro?

Toro - the monumental, medieval town!

Toro is a very old but lively small town in the province of Zamora. It is renowned for being the cradle of the Spanish kings and lies on a natural plateau at an altitude of 739 metres (2425 feet) above the valley of the Duero. This fertile region grows cereals, fruit and the famous Tinto de Toro, the wine which was relished by Columbus. The explorer always took wine from Toro on his voyages of discovery. Thanks to the special character of the indigenous vine a great future is predicted for the wines of Toro.

The roughly 10,000 inhabitants of Toro speak a pure Castilian — the official language of the country of Spain.

Toro is a warm and friendly small town, steeped in history and culture but also full of life. The old town centre is home to typically Spanish bars, the meeting places of the local people. Here they pass on news, exchange experiences, talk about personal matters, crack jokes, drink coffee, an apéritif or eat Tapas. In Toro people know each other, and everything can easily be reached on foot.

Well-known festivities of Toro are:

One of the oldest carnival of Spain, first mentioned in 1590.
The traditional Easter processions.
The summer festival of "San Augustin".
The yearly wine festival.

A glorious past.

ToLingua - Carnaval in Toro

Toro was toward the end of the 14th Century the site of the king’s court. Here at the court of Queen Isabel of Castile many important decisions were taken and laws passed, which were very important for the further expansion of the Kingdom. Thus the well-known "83 laws of Toro" became effective from 1505. They ruled for example that daughters were also entitled to inherit - a sensation for this time. Till then only the oldest son was entitled to benefit from this claim. Some of these laws laid the foundation of the later Spanish state

Still today you can see and feel this glorious past when you stroll through streets and alleyways and you see the many noble palaces, churches, places and monasteries. There are still seven monasteries active in Toro.

Positive future perspectives

As well as the glorious past Toro has a positive future.

The local economy is mainly based on the following sectors:

ToLingua - Vineyard near Toro

Agriculture
Food enterprises
Wine
Solar energy
Tourism

The traditional agriculture produces wheat, barley, corn, sugar beet for the local sugar refinery, and grapes for wine production. Olive trees have only recently been planted following a tradition which had been lost for many decades.

The flourishing food industry can be divided into three large segments: - sheep cheese, baked goods and the typical Spanish “charcuterie and cold cuts” (jamon, salchichon, chorizo, lomo, etc.). Today many quality products are sold throughout Spain and exported to all the world.

The number of the wineries has risen dramatically since 1990 when there were 10. In 2007 there are 44 wine-producing companies. The reason for this rapid growth is the quality of the grape variety "Tinta de Toro". Toro wines are amongst the best Spanish red wines, and are distributed all over the world.

In recent years solar energy (photovoltaics) has developed the fastest growing industries in Toro. From solar panel engineering to the production of silicon cells (starting from 2008) everything is produced here, even whole solar parks. The autonomous region Castilla y León is at the forefront of renewable energies in Spain.

Tourism is another important sector: Wine, cuisine, culture and nature are the components. There are above all Spanish tourists from the large cities; they come to Toro to relax and enjoy themselves.

ToLingua - Street cafes on the Plaza mayor

ToLingua - Street cafes on the Plaza mayor

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Toro - the monumental, medieval town!

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