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Salamanca, a city of considerable historical importance and cultural depth, is located in the northwestern region of the Iberian Peninsula. Comprising the autonomous community of Castile and León, it is the capital of the province carrying its name. Salamanca is a lighthouse of Spanish legacy and intellectual brilliance, with a recorded population of 144,424 people as of 2017 according to the National Statistics Institute (INE). With 203,999 residents, the city’s functional area confirms its ranking as the second most populous urban center in the autonomous community; Valladolid comes second.
Salamanca’s narrative spans millennia, with origins extending over 2,700 years to the first Iron Age. Drawn by the San Vicente hill’s strategic vantage point over the Tormes River, the first immigrants set the stage for what would become a crossroads of cultures. The territory that today hosts Salamanca has seen the ebb and flow of many people over ages, each leaving a lasting impression on its cultural fabric. Following the native tribes of the area, the Vaccaei and Vettones, the Romans arrived and included the land into their great empire since they understood its significance. Following the fall of Rome, the Visigoths made their mark only to be replaced in the early Middle Ages by Muslim emperors.
The dawn of contemporary Salamanca can be found in the central part Raymond of Burgundy, son-in-law of King Alfonso VI of León plays. Charged with Middle Ages’ repopulation of the city, Raymond’s efforts were crucial in forming the social fabric and urban environment that would become the Salamanca we know today. The most famous institution in the city and the pillar of its worldwide prestige, the University of Salamanca, emerged from this time of rebirth and expansion.
Alfonso IX of León founded the University of Salamanca in 1218; it is the oldest institution still running today in Spain. Its founding sprang from the medieval institution of higher learning known as the studium generale already in use. When the university became the first in Europe to be given the title of university by royal decree—an honor bestowed upon Alfonso X of Castile on November 9, 1252—its reputation and power were even more strengthened. Pope Alexander IV’s licentia ubique docendi (licence to teach wherever) in 1255 complimented this acknowledgement and raised the institution’s profile abroad.
In its heyday, the University of Salamanca was among the most esteemed institutes of education in Western Europe. Its stellar reputation led to the well-known proverb, “Quod natura non dat, Salmantica non praestat” (What nature does not give, Salamanca does not lend), which attests to the assumption that the institution could develop knowledge and wisdom but not bestow natural ability. Some of the most powerful people in Spanish and world history have graced the hallways and gardens of this venerable university. Walking these grounds was Antonio de Nebrija, the eminent humanist writer of the first grammar of the Spanish language. Here Christopher Columbus, the adventurer who would turn history around, sought funding for his travels. Fernando de Rojas, author of “La Celestina,” who studied within these walls, is owed something by the literary community.
Salamanca leaves intellectual legacy much beyond the most well-known graduates. The School of Salamanca, a collection of 16th-century theologians, jurists, and economists who made pioneering contributions to international law, economic theory, and human rights, sprang from the city. Key member of this movement Francisco de Vitoria is sometimes credited as founding author of international law. Salamanca’s academic surroundings provided rich ground for the poetry and spiritual insights of Fray Luis de León, the scholarly prowess of Beatriz Galindo (known as “La Latina” for her mastery of Latin), and Miguel de Unamuno’s philosophical musings.
The city’s importance goes beyond only academic output. From Romanesque to Gothic, Renaissance to Baroque, Salamanca’s architectural legacy is a visual chronicle of its history. This remarkable urban group resulted in the 1988 UNESCO declaration of the Old City of Salamanca as a World Heritage Site. Renowned buildings that have come to represent Salamanca’s cultural riches predominate in the cityscape.
Testaments to the city’s religious and cultural development are the two cathedrals, the Romanesque masterwork Old Cathedral and the New Cathedral with its mix of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque features. With its striking façade and scallop shell decorations, the Casa de las Conchas grabs tourists’ interest. Considered one of Spain’s most beautiful squares, the Plaza Mayor is the city’s beating center; its harmonic design offers both residents’ and guests’ gathering spot. Each building of the Convento de San Esteban and the Escuelas Mayores tells a different tale of Salamanca’s past, therefore augmenting the architectural tapestry of the city.
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