Paris1972-Versailles2003

We were back to my dear Spain again !! love it !! We came by car of course and took time to see new areas and old repeat with some of them as introduction to my sons and our dog Rex ! I rented a small house in a off the beaten path country town that was just perfect ! I like to continue the saga of our new road warrior experiences even if now with less in our family, This post is on my latest road warrior tour of wonderful sublime Spain.  Therefore, let me tell you about the plaza Mayor of Salamanca !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

The City of Salamanca is capital of the province of Salama nca located in the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León, and in the kingdom of Spain. In 1988, the Old City was declared a World Heritage for UNESCO, The City is located 109 km from Ávila, 121 km from Valladolid, 123 km from Portugal and 214 km from Madrid.

The plaza Mayor of Salamanca is one of the most beautiful squares in Spain. It was built in Baroque style following the project of Alberto Churriguera. Five granite arches and a sword between four allegorical figures. In their decoration, the medallions stand out, including those of Carlos I, Alfonso XI, Fernando VI, Cervantes or Santa Teresa. The facades of the buildings are organized on three floors, supported by a semicircular archery and topped by a balustrade. It is currently one of the most lively and traveled places in Salamanca. The Casa Consistorial was architecturally incomplete, being subsequently built the swords of its facade a century later in 1852, after its execution and end of the works, on April 29, 1755, the old Plaza de San Martín was split in three separate spaces: the new Plaza Mayor, the market , and that of the poet Iglesias which was before the fish market,. Thus initiating its history as its own and identifying urban square of the city. Spanish literature has numerous allusions to the Plaza Mayor and its surroundings, where there are outstanding descriptions such as that of the writer Miguel de Unamuno.

The Plaza Mayor began to be built in 1729 was completed in 1755 in Baroque style. It forms a three -story irregular ring on each facade, chaired by the City Hall. In the Pabellon Real or Royal Pavilion, the effigy of King Ferdinand III the saint and the medallions of the enjutas of his arches represent Spanish monarchs. In the southern pavilion San Martín in the medallions we see military or conquerors illustrious, while in the Petrineros pavilion the figures of the medallions are characters of culture. At the beginning of the 19C, it suffered various urban remodels, until little by little in the mid -20C it was devoid of its gardens, central music kiosk and public urinary ones.

The primitive square was born naturally in a campaign in which it was traded, next to the old door of the Salamanca wall and, because the church of San Martín was found, it was known since the 15C as Plaza de San Martín. This square was much larger than the current Plaza Mayor, almost four times more and extended not only for the current square, but understood the plaza del Mercado or market square, that of the Plaza del Corrillo and that of the poet Iglesias, being considered as the square largest in Christianity in which all the functions of a square (parties, market, etc.) were carried out simultaneously.

The Plaza Mayor is not a perfect square ,it is an irregular quadrilateral, and none of its facades measures the same. Approximately, the facade of the City Hall measures 82.60 meters, the eastern facade ,Pabellon Real 80.60 meters, the west facade measures 81.60 meters and the side of San Martín measures 75.69 m. Making an approximate calculation, the square has an area of ​​about 6400 m² without counting the arcades. In total the square has 8 semicircular arches with medallions in which important characters are represented in their dawns.

The City of Salamanca on its history : https://aytosalamanca.es/w/historia

The Salamanca tourist office on its heritage: https://salamanca.es/en/essential-salamanca/culture-and-cultural-heritage/monuments

The Castilla y Léon regional tourist office on the Plaza Mayor : https://www.turismocastillayleon.com/en/heritage-culture/main-squares/major-square-salamanca

The Unesco world heritage site on old town Salamanca: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/381/

There you go folks , another wonderful nostalgic, sentimental trip to my dear Spain, Do not know when we will be back, we sure will have this trip in our hearts forever, Again, hope you enjoy this post on the plaza Mayor of Salamanca !!! as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!