Pretty much every Spanish city has a Plaza Mayor, where people gather for to eat, socialize, play some pick-up, protest, etc. This is Salamanca's. Fun fact from our tour - there are small bas relief head-shot portraits of each of the rulers of Spain that adorn each of the square columns at about eye level.
On the walls of the Universidad Salamanca you can see many variations of this symbol painted next to a name and a year. The symbols are comprised of the letters from the word VICTOR and upon reaching a certain degree of education at this university, you're privileged with the ability to commemorate yourself with your in this way.
So I've become mildly obsessed with the ceilings in each of the palaces and cathedrals we've visited (though I've done a poor job of documenting this). Cathedrals take hundreds of years to construct and over time, the architectural traditions and tendencies change. By looking at the ceiling, you can tell roughly when things were finished based on the style of the arches. Unfortunately, I don't remember what all of the different types we heard about were, but I can tell you that (and this is especially true in the palaces where you can see architectural influences from various cultures, most prominently the Arab culture) there's also a bit of symbolism in the way the ceiling arches do or do not connect. The Romans made everything arc in a perfect circle and the arcs generally all met at a point as if to pay tribute to the one all powerful God. Though also monotheistic, the Arab way of paying tribute to this idea (not shown in either of the photos below) was to have all of the arcs convene in a polygon as if to say He comes from everywhere and connects everything.
This was a view from inside the courtyard of the University. The surrounding walls were filled with those victor symbols.
Outside the Cathedral, one of the facades was recently restored and when it was done, they hid an astronaut in the sculptures.
This was in the palace. Apparently before a big exam or thesis defense or something of the sort, a student would sit where you can see Carmen Ana, and the surrounding benches would be filled with his professors. As he studied, they would give him advice and whatnot to aid in his preparation. Behind her, you can see a wall that exemplifies the strong presence of Arab decorations in the palace.
On the base of a tomb in the Alcazar, the fortified palace I've been referring to, you can see a lion, a dog and a rabbit. Throughout the building, these three animals were featured many times, respectively symbolizing la vigilancia, la fieldad y la inteligencia.
This is one of la fachadas about which Carmen Ana could spend hours explaining. Impressive, isn't it?
On a column on the facade of one of the university entrances, there is a frog on top of a skull. It is said that the student who finds this frog on his own will have better luck with his studies. Symbolically, the frog is supposed to have something to do with education being able to purge the mind of sinful thought as it makes us wiser to the ways of the world.
In high school, we read the book Lazarillo de Tormes that has a lot of cultural and historical significance for Spain as it was one of the first novellas picarescas, meaning it was one of the first that didn't try to idealize or idolize life but rather laugh at it from the point of view of an orphaned rascal. This photo is a view of the Cathedral in Salamanca from the bridge that adorns a few of the scenes from this story.
While walking along the bridge, we made a friend. Apparently it's relatively normal to walk an eight year-old albino ferret by leash and harness in Salamanca.
Las casa de las conchas, also known as the 'house of the shells', is another big monument in Salamanca.
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