SALAMANCA BY NIGHT

MAGICAL MISTERY TOUR - JANUARY 2006

At night, after a first stroll around the city, we had an early dinner (arrived at 9:30 p.m. at the restaurant and were the first there) and I got back to the Hotel to have some rest. The mist was already invading town!


"CHURCH - Salamanca has many churches, and at night they usually have nice lights on!


"CATHEDRAL PORTAL - The north façade at its best"


"UNIVERSITY - The King of the Plateresque. While the rest of Europe embraced Italian Renaissance, Spain has always demonstrated a flare for the decorative arts, and kept the magnificence of its Gothic and Moorish components. While the Renaissance was essentially a structural architectural movement, the Plateresque style focused on the decorative side. So, extremely stylized façades integrating sculptures, busts, and floral and organic motifs are its most common feature"


"CLERECIA AND A PART OF THE CASA DE LAS CONCHAS"


"ANOTHER CHURCH"


"BLURRED PLAZA MAYOR - These night photos are always a bit blurred, but I have no patience for the tripod! This is how Plaza Mayor looked like before dinner. "



"IN THE MIST - Plaza Mayor is the most famous example of Churrigueresque architecture. Just as the Plateresque style is a branch of the Renaissance, the Churrigueresque style, which lasted from the 1600's until around 1750, comes within the realm of Baroque architecture. The word Churrigueresque comes from the Churriguera family, an architectural dynasty of brothers, descendents and pupils. Almost a Plateresque revival, Churrigueresque is mostly ornamental"




"PATIO DE LOS CASTELLANOS - The inner patio, the only part that remains of the original 15th century building, has been reformed to be the centre of the hotel. It’s an architectonic treasure"