Magic of Stones

  In these parts of Villamayor stone, rich in iron oxide, easy to work when newly quarried yet as hard as marble when dry, will make churhc, university, college or cathedral, shell motif, spire, capital or coat of amrs.
Should the stonemason so desire, the stone will become pure filigree and will seem to have emerged from a silversmith's anvil, be it in the form of some mythical arabesque, intricately entwined relief, a frog trapped within a skull or an astronaut in mid space odyssey, floating through a sea of almost unimaginable ornamentation. And when the rays of the setting sun reflect and refract upon its surfaces, the stone turns to pure gold, appears to glow from within and unleashes its full magic. The Main Square (Plaza Mayor) (1). Undoubtedly this is one of the most stunning arcaded squares in Spain. Designed by Alberto Churriguera, it was built from 1729-1755 in the Baroque style. Note the medallions on the pillars and spandrels, representing presonalities closely linked to the city's history (Unamuno, Fray Luis de León, etc). The play of light and shade is enhanced by the effect of the Villamayor stone being subtly set off by the grey of the granite, particularly on the façade of the city hall (Ayuntamiento), the work of García Quiñones.
Leaving by the Plaza del Corrillo, an irregularly shaped square, one comes to the 12th-century Romanesque Church of San Martín (St. Martin's) (2), constructed by the first Christian reconquistadores to arrive in the city (reconquistador; those who reconquered Spain from the Moors). It is built on the traditional groundplan of a nave and two aisles, with pointed barrel vaulting over the nave and groin vaulting over the aisles. The relief on the Bishop's (Obispo) Door depicts St. Martin tearing his cloak (i.e., to share it with a beggar). If one follows the Rúa Mayor (rúa or Calle; street), one comes to the House of Shells (Casa de las Conchas) (3), one of the best examples of 15th-century civic Gothic, with clear traces of Italian Renaissance influence. The façade is decorated with more than 300 scallop shells, due to the fact that its first owner, Rodrigo Árias, was a member of the Order of Santiago (the scallop shell is traditionally associated with St. James, Santiago) Set within these shells, is a beautiful paired Isabeline window (this is the colonette-style window konwn in Spanish as ajimez) and two exquisite Gothic grilles. The inner patio (courtyard or quadrangle) is framed by mixtilinear arches, which are such a typical feature of Salamanca that the style has been dubbed Salmantino. The building houses the Tourist Information Office. Standing opposite is the Clerecía (Baroque Church and Seminary) (4), designed by Juan Gómez de la Mora and begun in 1617. The church forms part of the jesuit College (Universidad Pontificia). Church and seminary were the initiative of Margaret of Austria, wife of Philip III, in an attempt to make reparations to the Society of Jesus for the wrong done to its founder, St. Ignatius Loyola, by his imprisonment in Salamanca at the hands of the Dominicans. The towers, designed by García Quiñones, somewhat distort the façade's otherwise primitive air.
Go down Libreros street to get to one of the city's most impressive architectural sights. The University (5): this Gothic-style structure was built on the orders of Pope Luna in the years 1415-1433. In 1529 the main façade was erected between two buttresses and is the archetype of the style that has become known as Salamanca Plateresque (Plata, Spanish for silver, denoting the style's resemblance to silver filigrees). Five decorative vertical lines of decorative stonework rise through three horizontal registers. Prominently displayed in the first register, immediately over the twin doors with their basket-handle arch surmounts, is the medallion depicting the Catholic Monarchs holding a single sceptre, in representation of the unity of Spain. Visible above their heads are the yoke and arrows symbols of the monarchy, and running round the border is an inscription engraved in Greek that reads: The monarchs for the university and the university for the monarcha. Ferdinand, Elisabetha. To the right as one looks at the façade, three skulls will be seen on the broadest pilaster, and within the lefthand skull is the famous frog, said to represent sin. In the centre of the secong register, above the Order of the Golden Fleece and flanked by the two-headed eagle of the Holy Roman Empire and the crowned eagle of St. John, symbol of the Kingdom of Spain, is the imposing royal escutcheon of the Emperor Charles V. Lastly, on the third and uppermost register, there is the figure of a Pope, possibly Benedict XIII or Martin V, both protectors of the University in their time, addressing clerics and prelates. To the right and left of this group are the heads of Venus and Hercules. Note that as they get higher, the figurative and arabesque reliefs grow in size. Leading off from the university quadrangle are the lecture rooms. Among these are: the lecture hall that once belonged to Francisco de Vitoria theologian and founder of international law; the class where Unamuno taught; the Paraninfo (Great Hall); and the well-known room used by Fray Luis de León and kept just as it was in his time. The library and a museum will be found on the first floor.

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