SALAMANCA, OLÉ!

LEARNING SPANISH - JANUARY 2006

Having completed the Erasmus semester in Vallendar, Di had some free time while her colleagues in Lisbon were still passing through the January exams. So she decided to learn some Spanish, and Salamanca was an obvious choice, as in Salamanca the inhabitants - Salmantinos - speak the "purest" Castilian in Spain! And getting there to visit her, was a nice opportunity to re-visit the city, four years later!


"PATIO DE CASTELLANOS - Quite centrally located, adjacent to the Plaza del Concilio de Trento, in the heart of Salamanca's monumental and historic district, my favourite Salamanca hotel merges modern comfort with traditional splendour. The Porsche is there just to be fined..."



"NEW CATHEDRAL - Built between 1513 and 1733, in late Gothic and Baroque styles"


"ANAYA PALACE, ordered by Dom Diego de Anaya e Maldonado in 1401 and located across the New Cathedral, is one of the few Neo-Classical buildings in Salamanca. It housed the Colegio Mayor, the oldest in town"


"OLD CATHEDRAL ALTAR - The construction of the old cathedral began in 1140 and lasted for more than a century to conclude. The altarpiece is an ensemble of 53 panels painted in the XVth century, narrating the life of Jesus and Mary and the Last Judgment fresco"



"CHAPELS - Some of the impressive chapels in the cathedral"


"DOME - The incredible dome springs from a double arcade that is daringly pierced with windows, remembering Hagia Sophia"


"THE ASTRONAUT - Can you spot it?"


"UNIVERSITY, with its Plateresque facade. In 1218, Alfonso IX of León founded the University of Salamanca. Under the patronage of Alfonso X (1252-1282) its schools of canon law and civil law attracted students even from the Universities of Paris and Bologna. In 1254, Pope Alexander IV called the University of Salamanca «one of the four leading lights of the world». Hernán Cortés, Ignatius Loyola, Miguel de Cervantes and Miguel de Unamuno took classes at Salamanca"


"NEW CATHEDRAL TOWER as seen from the University building"


"CANON LAW room entrance"



"THE MINOR SCHOOLS were built in the 1428, and they house a patio of great simplicity. The façade of the building is of plateresque style. The entrance is made up of two arches resting over a column of Corinthian volute. In its superior part, the imperial shield represents the power of the Emperor Charles V"


"PLAZA FREY LUIS DE LEON"


"THE CLERECIA started to be built in the 17th century, but the works were concluded only in the 19th century. Intended to be a College for the Jesuits, it hosts now the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca"


"THE PLAZA MAYOR is one of the finest squares in Europe, and from my point of view the most beautiful Plaza Mayor in Spain. Its construction was ordered by Felipe V and it is now the central square and the living room of the Salmantinos. The plaza has a capacity of 20,000 people, was originally a venue for bullfights but is currently used primarily for concerts"