Plaza Mayor

During our 2009 drive through Spain, another city we visited was Salamanca. Known as the “Golden City”, its historic center is filled with churches, palaces and university buildings constructed from local sandstone that glows warmly in the sunlight and beneath the evening lights.

Salamanca’s identity has been shaped by its university, founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX of León. It is the oldest university in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe. For centuries, students and scholars have traveled here to study theology, law, philosophy, literature and science, giving Salamanca an intellectual character that continues today.

One of the city’s traditions is to search the elaborately carved university façade for a tiny frog resting on a skull. According to legend, students who find it will enjoy academic success. Salamanca is also unusual for having two connected cathedrals: a Romanesque Old Cathedral and a much larger New Cathedral built beside it.

Our photograph looks through an arched entrance into the illuminated Plaza Mayor, the great gathering place at the center of the city. Built during the eighteenth century, the square has hosted markets, ceremonies and bullfights. Today, its arcades, cafés and evening crowds reflect what makes Salamanca so memorable. A city where centuries of history remain part of everyday life.