Our Blog - Salamanca Cathedral
Salamanca actually has two cathedrals (the Old Cathedral and the New Cathedral). And although they are fused together and you have to go through the New Cathedral to get to the Old Cathedral, they each has their own unique look. The Old Cathedral is Romanesque, dating from the 12th century and is famous for its ornate Gallo Tower. The adjoining New Cathedral was built in stages, from 1509 to 1733 and, as you can guess, combines styles from late Gothic, Baroque, and Renaissance/Plateresque. We will start with the New Cathedral, as that is where the entrance was. It has a really good audioguide, so if you ever go there, take the audioguide!
I mentioned the Plateresque style before ... At the end of the Gothic period and the start of the Renaissance style, there was somewhat of a mixing of the styles, which is what is called Plateresque in Spain. I have a set of pictures of the exterior, with specific close-ups to try to show the amount of detail in the carvings.
Now for the interior ... it is, in a word, MASSIVE. There are something like 25 chapels in addition to the main nave, the choir, two sacristies, and the bell tower. The carvings throughout are really impressive, as is the organ.
This is the Chapel of Saint Anthony of Padua, who among other things, is the patron saint of lost things. Born in Lisbon to a wealthy and noble family, he joined the order of the Franciscans
To give an idea of how large these columns are, we had Tom stand in front of one.
The Chapel of Solitude with this lovely Baroque altar.
This is called the Main Chapel, and it has statues of several Saints around one of Mary. I attempted to get a few shots of the statue at the very top, although not as successful as I would have liked.
This is the choir, which is really quite impressive. I don't think the pictures really capture the intricate carvings as well as I would have wanted, but there is only so much you can do with the camera of an iPhone :-). It took over 10 years to finish, ending in around 1740. There are two sections ... in the upper section, the 57 chairs have carvings with images of Jesus and the apostles, and the bottom section has 41 seats with carvings of Virgins and Saints.
The Golden Chapel dates from the 15th century and is unique for all of the gilded carved pieces.
The Old Cathedral entrance is from within the New Cathedral. It was started in the 12th century and completed in Romanesque/Gothic style in the 14th century. It is dedicated to Santa Maria de la Sede (Saint Mary of the See). The various paintings on the walls are really nice, especially from that long ago.
The apse contains 53 paintings depicting the life of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. A fresco of the Final Judgement is over them.
There is also the Cloister, which has multiple little arched areas for the tombs of various religious people associated with the Cathedral.
The Anaya Chapel contains the remarkable tomb of Diego de Anaya, made out of alabaster and surrounded by a marvelously crafted plateresque gate.
