The enchanting Plaza Mayor of Salamanca
Less than 2 hours by high speed train from Madrid, across the barren plains of Castilla y León, I arrived in the city of Salamanca. Nicknamed the Golden City (La Dorada), this university town practically glows thanks to the unique ochre stone of its buildings. (The golden sandstone is quarried from the nearby village of Villamayor.)
Entering the historic area it’s easy to see Salamanca is very beautiful. Besides the radiance of the stone, there is an insane amount of intricate carvings on the buildings – on facades, rooftops, window ledges, cornices and columns. Everywhere. More than pretty stonework, the city is brimming with history so I signed up for 2 guided tours: an evening tour on legends and curiosities and a daytime tour on the main monuments. Both my guides, Maria and Margarita, were fantastic but after 5 hours of touring my head was spinning.
With so many important monuments, it’s hard to know where to start in Salamanca.
Or maybe it’s not.
There is an obvious meeting spot or punto de encuentro in this city of 140,000 people. It’s where I met both my tour guides on Friday evening and Saturday morning. When people from Salamanca say, “Meet me under the clock”, everyone knows the reference point. It’s the large clock in the epicentre of the city, Plaza Mayor.
In my three days in Salamanca I walked through this beautiful square at every time of day: quietly waking up in the morning as deliveries were made, busy with crowds in the height of the afternoon, and magically lite up at night. It’s the beating heart of the city. Take any one of its eight entrances and they will lead you to where you want to go. South takes you to Calle Mayor and the 800 year old university and two cathedrals, east to the central food market and north to the shopping street Calle Zamora.
I was surprised to learn the plaza is larger and older than its counterpart in Madrid. It was designed in 1724 by Alberto de Churriguera, an architect that left his mark all over this city. The Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) topped with the clock stands out on the north side but otherwise the plaza’s design appears quite uniform at first glance. On closer inspection (thanks to my guides!) I was able to spot many of the unique features all around this grand square.
The square is irregular, or technically a trapezoid. The 88 arches on the ground floor are not equally distributed across the four sides. The balconies, though uniform in look, are different sizes. In the past, the larger ones had prestigious owners like the church or the university. Today the top two floors are private apartments, while the first floor is occupied by the ground level shops and restaurants. I had dinner one night up on this floor at Mesón Cervantes (photos below). I wasn’t able to snag a table overlooking the Plaza but sitting in the back room I had another beautiful view: the art deco stain glass of the central market.
In between each of the 88 arches are medallions or carved portraits of famous people in Spain’s history. There are sections for royalty, soldiers and conquistadors, and cultural ilustres like writers (Miguel de Cervantes), philosophers (Miguel de Unamuno) and saints (Saint Teresa of Ávila, photo below on the left).
These busts may be carved in stone, but changes can and have been made over time. During the dictatorship of Franco he had a portrait of himself added, which has since been removed (see the empty space without a medallion in the photo below in front of the Burger King).
Most Spaniards would recognize the famous characters on the medallions. For me, it would be a whole other history lesson. My head was overflowing with facts as it was. Thankfully Plaza Mayor has ample space to sit and take a break. At anytime of day. Tables and chairs from the restaurants and cafes line the entire perimeter.
Salamanca is a city with mucho ambiente. Tiene mucha vida. It’s full of life. Plaza Mayor is at the centre of it all. I may not have retained everything I learned from my tours, but this much I did.
Pull up a chair. Order a drink. Maybe some food. Soak in the ambience of the enchanting Plaza Mayor of Salamanca.
