I studied Spanish for the months of August and September in the city of Salamanca, Spain.
(32K) 648 x 434 | The Plaza Mayor, a beautiful arcaded square, with the Town Hall (Ayuntamiento) here on the North. |
(42K) 648 x 434 | The Church of Santiago, one of the many Romanesque churches in the city. The statue is of a famous novel written about the adventures of a boy in Salamanca named Lazarus, who has the job of guiding a blind man. |
(38K) 648 x 429 | This is a statue of St. John of the Cross, near the carmelite monastery, but with a different Church in the background here: St. Stephan (Esteban). |
(48K) 434 x 648 | The facade of San Esteban, with fine ornamentation, that almost turns gold in the sunlight. |
(38K) 434 x 648 | The high altar of san Esteban. |
(38K) 720 x 482 | View of the Cathedrals (here mostly seeing the new one). |
(38K) 432 x 648 | The Pontifical University, where I attended class, which was originally built as a Jesuit college. The monumental Church is called the Clerecía, built in 1617. |
(28K) 434 x 648 | Inside the courtyard of the Pontifical University. |
(23K) 648 x 434 | The university tower and Clerecía at night. |
(28K) 432 x 649 | The tower of the new Cathedral, built in the 16th century. |
(40K) 648 x 434 | View of the side of the new Cathedral. |
(42K) 720 x 482 | A comparison: the cupola on the right is that of the roof of the old Cathedral. In the background is the new Cathedral, built alongside the old. |
(38K) 432 x 648 | Detail of the cupola of the old Cathedral |
(31K) 425 x 648 | Inside the Old (12th century) Cathedral. |
(40K) 434 x 648 | The main altar has 53 scenes from the life of Christ, painted in 1455. In the center is a wooden sculpture of the Virgen de la Vega (Virgin of the Old Cathedral), patron of the city of Salamanca celebrated on Sept. 8th. |
(31K) 434 x 648 | Inside the new Cathedral. |
(26K) 434 x 648 | A view of the choir in the main nave of the cathedral. |
(44K) 434 x 648 | The main facade of the Cathedral. |
(23K) 646 x 432 | A view from the Cathedral. In the center of the picture is the Roman Bridge. |
(37K) 648 x 432 | At the end of the Roman Bridge is this "bull", which appears on the towns coat of Arms. |
(40K) 720 x 482 | View of the Cathedral (and note the Clerecía) from the Roman Bridge, which crosses the river Tormes. |
(40K) 720 x 482 | 15 of the original, 1st century Roman arches survive today, on this bridge which was part of the "silver route". |
(40K) 432 x 648 | Facade of the secular university. The university dates from the 13th century, the oldest in Spain. However, the building dates from the 15th century. |
(23K) 434 x 648 | The famous House of Shells (Casa de las Conchas) from the late 15th century. The shell is a symbol of the pilgrimage to Santiago di Compostela. |
(29K) 434 x 648 | Inside it contains the public library. Pictured here is the courtyard, with the Clerecía in the background. Note the lower arches which are really made of 5 little curves. |
(38K) 432 x 648 | The high altar of La Purisima (the Most Pure) by José Ribera, in the 17th century church the same name. |
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Santa Teresa de Jesús (de Avila) (1515-1582), famous reformer and founder of the Spanish Carmelites, is a Patron of the Diocese. In 1570 she founded a convent in Salamanca, and again visited in 1573 to put things in order at the foundation there.
Although not a patron of Salamanca, St. John of the Cross (San Juan de la Crux) attended the University of Salamanca from 1564-68: three years in the arts (philosophy) program and one year in theology. He was ordained a priest in Salamanca in July of 1567.
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