Day Eighteen
Date: 16 April 2013
Place: Salamanca
Weather: Glorious
sunny day….max 21 degrees.
Accommodation: Hotel
Catalonia Salamanca
Today started out slightly coolish but already we noticed
the air is drier and much warmer. After
breakfast at the Plaza Mayor and once again blundering our way through the menu
we visited the tourist information office for a map and some tips.
A tourist making a spectacle of herself in Plaza Major....too much coffee for breakfast!
We followed old cobbled streets from the plaza to take in
the Universidad de Salamanca. We passed
the Casa de las Conchas and had a look inside.
We were going to see and learn more later as we were going to join an
English speaking walking trip at 2pm.
Across the street from Casa de las Conchas stands the
private university – Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca. Just a little way along past tulip filled
gardens stands the new and old cathedrals (Catedral Nueva and Catedral Vieja). The churches are joined and the new church
has magnificently carved porticos. This
was also on our tour we moved on.
Our aim was to take in an audio tour of the Universidad de
Salamanca as the 2pm tour did not include the interior. The university is not used as a general
university but it is still used for special events.
They say if you can find the frog it will bring you good luck. Can you spot the frog on the skull? There are a lot of souvenirs in Salamanca with a frog!
The entry to the
university is known for its wonderful façade decorated in the very ornate
Plateresque style. Upon entering the
site the gate opens onto a cloistered courtyard which contains 23 arches. The audio tour was very interesting and
‘walked’ us through the St Jerome Chapel, The Great Hall (with 16th
century tapestries), The Column Room, and the old library. Above the lintels are the latin names of the
subjects held in each of the rooms.
Desley standing on the magnificent stairs: The Stairs of Knowledge
Eat your heart out Harry Potter!
The famous Hymn Book compiled by Silanas
The Old Library (13th century) was magnificent
and Harry Potter would have been very jealous!
It was built a few years after the university was commenced and very old
manuscripts are housed in 17th century bookcases. The oldest manuscript was written in the 11th
century. We could only view the library
through glass doors but we were very impressed with its size as it contains
2805 historical manuscripts.
The University (The Eclselas Mayores Building) has a
magnificent marble staircase carved in Plateresque style: The Stairs of Knowledge which date to the 16th
century.
After sating our brains with enough history we moved onto
something more modern – the Museo Art Nouveau y Art Deco in the Casa Lis. Unfortunately, we were not permitted to take
photos. The exhibition is over two
floors and includes the naturistic Art Nouveau style and the geometric style of
Art Deco. The exhibition leaned more
heavily to Art Nouveau and included marble and bronze statues of figures
(women), a huge display of dolls, jewellery (including Faberge), scent bottles,
and various odd (!) assortments. The
façade of the building facing the river is entirely of stained glass and
certainly stands out compared to the honey-coloured buildings Salamanca is noted
for.
The entrance to the Museo Art Nouveau y Art Deco....shame you couldn't take photos!
It was time for lunch before the tour. What a treat to sit under an umbrella, sip
wine and beers and enjoy the ambience of this university city.
Ah....life's tough touring!
We met our tour guide Mercedes at 2pm and we were joined by
a Scottish couple from north of Edinburgh.
Our little group moved along the streets listening to all the wonderful
information from our tour guide.
Mercedes pointed out 12th century St Martin’s
Church which adjoins the square and the large nests on the bell-towers. Apparently, they are stork nests and are
nurtured as a symbol of family. The city
places large iron supports to assist the storks and the same pair return each
year in February after migration.
Not a bad life for the storks in Salamanca! We spotted the storks on our way to dinner later in the day.
We visited the new and old cathedrals which are unusual as
they are joined. The ‘new’ one is 15th
century but as it took 200 years to build once the new one was completed the people didn't want the old one knocked down....so Salamanca has the only joined cathedrals in Europe!
The magnificent entrance to the new cathedral.
The 'new' cathedral was commenced in 1513. The cloisters were completely destroyed and subsequently rebuilt after the devastating Lisbon earthquake in 1755.
The bottom of the columns on the new cathedral were badly eroded so they were reworked twenty years ago with modern ideas in the old style. Can you spot the astronaut?
The old and the new: The new cathedral spire is on the left and the old cathedral on the right.
After the very informative tours of the cathedrals we walked the lovely streets of Salamanca to Casa la Concha which was built at the end of the 15th century. The house has the symbol of a shell embossed in sandstone on the outside to represent the owner's wife's heritage. Inside all rooms face to an open courtyard with a central well. It is in remarkably good condition with very ornate and typical Salamancan colonnades.
The exterior is a beautiful honey colour which the area is known for with its sandstone.
Casa de las Conchas
After our tour we found time for an ice-cream and then it was time for a siesta before dinner. We re-joined the throngs of people on the streets and did what most Spanish do....stroll. The elusive café serving steak was finally found and we settled back for some good red wine, a crisp white and some delicious food to cap off a very happy day! Salamanca is a very special place.
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