Salamanca

Friday, May 8

We started out this morning for Salamanca's covered market, which is just off the Plaza Mayor, but were disappointed to find that's it's currently undergoing renovation.  There was a small, temporary market nearby, with a limited number of butchers and fish stores -- not the experience we'd been looking for.

Our next stop did not disappoint. We visited the University of Salamanca; founded in 1230, it is Spain's oldest and was once its most prestigious.  Ferdinand and Isabella provided the funds for the building, and their gift is acknowledged above the main entrance.  That facade is ornamented with stone carving in Spain's ornate Plateresque style.

We were able to visit several lecture halls, chapel, ceremonial hall, library (Spain's first), and exhibits ranging from ancient manuscripts to a laser selected from the university's museums, all arranged around a central  two-storey cloister.  The fact that the university is still fulfilling its educational mission almost 800 years later made the history especially interesting.  We also visited a special exhibition room off the lovely courtyard of the Escuales Menores (lower schools) to see the domed painting, Sky of Salamanca, which depicts the constellations.

From the university, we walked to the banks of the River Tormes at the edge of the old town, to see the low, many-arched Roman Bridge and enjoy the view of the city from there.

But the best views of all were still to come.  We decided to climb the Ieronimus, the medieval cathedral tower, an effort that was mitigated by the fact that the very thoughtful designers of the experience placed exhibits on several levels, so as we climbed, there were lots of "rest stops" en route to the top.  Though spiral stairs were narrow and steep, each "flight" was short, and we could pretend to be very interested in reading the Spanish-language explanations of the exhibits on each landing while, in fact, we were just taking a breather.  The tower afforded us views over the entire city, walks among the buttresses, ramparts, and domes, views from the galleries into both the old and new cathedrals, and the chance to have our hearing tested in the bell tower as the hour chimed.  It was also the first time we'd ever seen red and green lights to regulate the up and down "traffic" on spiral staircases -- very efficient.  Aesthetics and efficiency combined in one terrific vertical experience!

We picked up chorizo empanadas in a bakery, ate lunch in our apartment, and waited a while until things came back to life after siesta.  Then, we returned to visit both the old (largely Romanesque) and new (soaring Gothic) cathedrals at ground level, listening to the audioguides until our eyes glazed over and we decided we'd be much better off raising them (our eyes) to our stupendous surroundings.

We still had room for one more church, so we headed to the Dominican church of St. Esteban (Stephen).  The Plateresque facade of St. Stephen's stoning (and a lot more!), intricate as it was, paled in comparison to the over-the-top glittering altar.  In contrast, the cloister was relatively simple decoratively and the choir which overlooked the altar and nave was also from the less-is-more school of design.

And with that, it was back "home" for cocktail hour and dinner.

With several universities, Salamanca is full of young people (and old tourists like us), has an active street life, history, culture, and its warm sandstone buildings create a visually unified and very pleasing whole.  It's a bit off the beaten track, but we're so glad we made our way here.