The Iberian Peninsula and “Convivencia”

The word “Convivencia” describes the cohabitation of the three monotheistic religions in Spain and Portugal during the Middle Ages. Some historians have seen this period as a golden age where cultural exchanges were the rule and the three communities lived in harmony. Others question this “multiculturalism” and even denounce it as a myth. Whatever the truth may be, sites such as Cordoba, Granada and Toledo, still offer a testimony of this period with its brilliant or tragic facets, the consequences of which can still be felt nowadays.