Spain Guide
Castilla y León and La Rioja
Plaza Mayor
The grand Plaza Mayor is the hub of Salamantine life; its bare central expanse, in which bullfights were staged as late as 1863, is enclosed by a continuous four-storey building, broken only by the grand ayuntamiento on its northern side. Decorated with iron balconies and medallion portraits, the building was the work of Andrea García Quiñones and Alberto Churriguera, younger brother of José; nowhere is the Churrigueras' inspired variation of Baroque so refined. Cafés and restaurants ring the arcades, and pensiones and hotels occupy parts of the upper storeys, but signs, advertising, lights and other modern clutter are not allowed to intrude.
Arches from Plaza Mayor lead out into the surrounding shopping streets, including, on the east side, to Plaza del Mercado and the red-brick-and-iron Mercado Central, the city's small two-tier market, surrounded by lively restaurants and tapas bars. On the west side, you can wander through the charming streets to find the Convento y Museo de las Úrsulas (daily 11am–1pm & 4.30–6pm; €2), recognizable by its unusual open-topped tower; its church contains the superb marble tomb of Archbishop Alonso Fonseca by Diego de Siloé. Facing the east wall of this church is the impressive Plateresque facade of the Casa de las Muertes (House of the Dead), the mansion of leading Salamantine architect Juan de Álava, named for the four small skulls at the base of the upper windows.