Communidad de Leon et Castille: Salamanca
Our transportation options from Merida were a 6-hour train with a change, or a 4-hour direct bus. We went with the bus. Which was comfortable, no issues with storing the guitar below, and the bus even had a working toilet! (In our travels, this has been a rarity).
While from the size and number of its cathedrals, you would think it was religion that loomed large over the city,
but it is the University that has done more to define Salamanca and cement its importance to Spain and Europe as a whole. Admittedly, while wandering the medieval streets it is difficult to distinguish the religious buildings from the academic, since most were built in the same era, and religious iconography is common on the academic buildings due to being a center for religious education along with law, science and medicine.
The city as a fortified village predates the Romans, though in the 1st century it became part of the Via de Plato (the Silver Road), which continues onto Merida ( https://let-me-show-you-the-world.com/travel-in-the-time-of-covid-europe-2021-spain-ix/) and Coronado (https://let-me-show-you-the-world.com/travel-in-the-time-of-covid-europe-2021-spain-vii/. And of course, it has a Roman Bridge (though not quite as impressive as the one in Merida).
The city grew steadily under the Romans, but then the local population was decimated from 712-939 as possession alternated between the Moors and Kingdom of Leon. When Leon aligned with the Kingdom of Castille, the area stabilized and the population finally returned when King Alfonse VI of Leon-Castille conquered Toledo in 1085 and the area was no longer the border between two powers.
Once Salamanca had stability, the local population went to building – big, ambitious buildings- a Cathedral and a Cathedral School. The Old Cathedral was begun in the 12th century and completed approximately 200 hundred years later. Another 200 years went by and the local Bishop decided it wasn’t big enough, and a new one was built adjacent to the old beginning in 1513, but not completed until 1733, incorporating both late Gothic and Baroque styles.
The massive earthquake of 1755 in Lisbon was felt even here, cracking some walls- still evident today.
The University of Salamanca is the third oldest University in existence (Only Bologne and Oxford are older). It started as a Cathedral School in 1130, then added more general curriculum and was chartered by King Alfonse IX of Leon in 1218. It was given the title University and an endowment by King Alfonse X of Leon and Castille in 1254.
The University of Salamanca has been a center of learning, employing educators who teach modern and often controversial ideas. It was one of the first Universities to incorporate ideals of humanism and natural law, as seen in the teachings of Francisco de Vitoria (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_Vitoria ). With 25% of the local economy based around the University, it is a young, well-educated city.
In my wanderings – I have failed to discuss the main local delicacy – Iberico Ham (or jamon). The raising of these pigs to give the most flavor, then the curing and aging is almost a religion -the Guijeulo DOP of the Salamanca region is one of the fattiest and most prized. The cost of the highest quality from pigs raised on a diet of acorns can cost as much as $140/lb. The more common, much less expensive haunches hang from hooks in tapas bars around the country, with little cups beneath to catch the drippings.
Anyone who is a fan of Anthony Bourdain knows of his ravings of this delicacy. Almost anyone who is a meat-eating omnivore is guaranteed to love Iberico Ham.
Next stop – Madrid!