Catedral Salamanca
Salamanca actually has two impressive cathedrals connected to each other, located in the south end of the old town. If you’re just entering for worship or to say a prayer, you’ll go into the “new” cathedral. If you want to tour the spaces, though, you’ll be added to a group and handed a multilingual audio guide that follows a strict itinerary—there’s no jumping around to the “good” parts.
The Catedral Vieja (Old Cathedral) is a squat Romanesque structure begun in 1140, with sight lines to the altar obscured by the sheer bulk of its interior supports. Nonetheless, it has some powerful religious art, most notably a mid-15th-century altarpiece of 53 scenes painted by Nicholas of Florence to delineate the life of Christ and scenes of the Virgin Mary. Two chapels are of particular note: the Capilla de San Martín with frescoes painted in 1242, and the Capilla de Santa Catalina, replete with gargoyles.
The Catedral Nueva (New Cathedral) isn’t all that new—it was launched in 1513 in an old-fashioned style that made it “the last gasp of Gothic style,” as architectural historians put it—but it’s still the largest and highest building in the city. The soaring spaces inside welcome pious contemplation. All three Churriguera brothers served as supervising architects during the cathedral’s ongoing construction (it wasn’t consecrated until 1733), so many of the surface details and twisted-rope columns are truly Churrigueresque. (One bas-relief column, for example, resembles a cluster of palm trees.) The tradition of inspired stone carving continues: When the lower portion of the Puerta Ramos on the west side was rebuilt in 1992, the stonemason and restorers decided to update the carvings with the image of an astronaut floating in space, a monkey eating an ice cream cone, and a stork carrying a branch in its beak. (Panhandlers hanging out near the entrance will point them out for a tip.)
Salamanca actually has two impressive cathedrals connected to each other, located in the south end of the old town. If you’re just entering for worship or to say a prayer, you’ll go into the “new” cathedral. If you want to tour the spaces, though, you’ll be added to a group and handed a multilingual audio guide that follows a strict itinerary—there’s no jumping around to the “good” parts.
The Catedral Vieja (Old Cathedral) is a squat Romanesque structure begun in 1140, with sight lines to the altar obscured by the sheer bulk of its interior supports. Nonetheless, it has some powerful religious art, most notably a mid-15th-century altarpiece of 53 scenes painted by Nicholas of Florence to delineate the life of Christ and scenes of the Virgin Mary. Two chapels are of particular note: the Capilla de San Martín with frescoes painted in 1242, and the Capilla de Santa Catalina, replete with gargoyles.
The Catedral Nueva (New Cathedral) isn’t all that new—it was launched in 1513 in an old-fashioned style that made it “the last gasp of Gothic style,” as architectural historians put it—but it’s still the largest and highest building in the city. The soaring spaces inside welcome pious contemplation. All three Churriguera brothers served as supervising architects during the cathedral’s ongoing construction (it wasn’t consecrated until 1733), so many of the surface details and twisted-rope columns are truly Churrigueresque. (One bas-relief column, for example, resembles a cluster of palm trees.) The tradition of inspired stone carving continues: When the lower portion of the Puerta Ramos on the west side was rebuilt in 1992, the stonemason and restorers decided to update the carvings with the image of an astronaut floating in space, a monkey eating an ice cream cone, and a stork carrying a branch in its beak. (Panhandlers hanging out near the entrance will point them out for a tip.)
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