Spain Guide
Castilla y León and La Rioja
Universidad Pontifícia de Salamanca
Address: On c/La Compañia, south of Plaza Mayor
Opening time: Tues– Fri 10.30am–12.45pm & 5–6.45pm, Sat 10am–1.15pm & 5–7.15pm, Sun 10am–1.15pm
Price: €2.50
Website: www.upsa.es
The main draw of the Universidad Pontifícia de Salamanca is its central building, a former Jesuit college founded in 1617. Although linked originally to the university proper, it was formally established as a separate religious college in 1940 by Pope Pius XII, with faculties of theology and canon law (excluded from the main university in 1852). Obligatory Spanish-only guided tours set off every 45 minutes, starting at a magnificent stone staircase, la escalera noble, that seems to hang suspended in the air, then taking in the richly decorated main hall and the grandiose cloister, before ending in the vast Baroque church of La Clerecía next door.