Salamanca (part 1)

Salamanca is one of those towns which, although not large in extension, impress any of its visitors. All the buildings in the center of town, even the new ones, are made of the stone from Villamayor, which contains a high concentration of iron making possible very filigree works, and its characteristic golden color gives strong personality to all the town.

The Cathedral

Salamanca's cathedral is a prototypical example of plateresque style which is so typical for Spain, marking the transition from Gothic to Renaissance. Spaniards call this cathedral "La Nueva", the new one, as the old cathedral still exists at its side.

Cathedral

In its splendid interior pay attention to the "Golden Chapel" with extraordinary works of sculpture and to the Patio Chico, the small yard, to be found at the place where "old" and "new" cathedral are built together.

A narrow street, Calle Calderón, leads you from here to the University quarter.

The University Quarter

The University of Salamanca is one of the oldest in the world, founded by King Alphonse IX only a short period of time after the Universities of Bologna and Paris. The building you can see today however was built at the time of the catholic kings, and is considered a masterwork of plateresque style. The façade is ornamented with numerous figures,  the most famous among them the "frog on a skull", which numerous tourists try to make out - not easy considering the large number of small figures.

University

In the University's interior certainly the huge Library of 160.000 volumes is the main attraction. Worth visiting is also the staircase with reliefs showing scenes of bullfighting and the customs of students in old times who used to write their names at the façade with bulls blood.