Trip #3 (Part II) - SALAMANCA

It has taken a while, but I am back with more of our trip.

Salamanca is a beautiful university town. The university was founded in 1218 under Alfonso IX of León. The university boasts one of the most beautiful plateresque façades in Spain (below)

One of the fun aspects of the façade is the quest for the skull with the frog on its head. It is claimed that if you find it you will either marry within the year or pass all of your exams. I won't tell you where it is, but below is what it looks like!

A few of the interesting features of the old university are the allegorical staircase, the fray Luis de León room, and the symbol of the dolphin and the anchor.

The first tram of the allegorical staircase features an array of activities associated with the world. At the center of this secular world is a women, whom some have identified as a prostitute. All the male figures dance, play instruments, and react to her beauty, blinded to all else.

The second tram features two opposing circumstances. On the right-hand you have the figure of a women sitting atop a man, with her hand reaching upwards toward a spider. On the left-hand side you have a man astride a woman, with his hand reaching upwards toward a honey bee. The interpretation is as follows: When women, luxury, and thoughtless lust govern men, it is poison to the mind and to our habits. However, when man dominates his appetites (represented by the woman), they are productive like the honey bee.

At the beginning of the third tram there is a man entwined in a netting. This is thought to represent man trapped by his own lusts and bodily needs. At the top of the staircase stands a scholar whose intellect has overcome the mundanity of the world. In between the two figures stand the noble acts of man, including knights, farmers, etc.

When man overcomes the world and its lusts and reaches for knowledge, he is elevated. At the top of the staircase is the university library where knowledge can be researched and gained.

Another interesting symbol inside the university is the dolphin and the anchor. The figure corresponds to the idea of festine lente or "make haste slowly." The refrain suggests that "What is done quickly enough is done well enough." A 17th century French poet, Nicolás Boileau, wrote:

Slowly make haste, of labor not afraid;

A hundred times consider what you've said; 

Polish, repolish, every color lay,

And sometimes add, but oftener take away.

Applied to learning, we should take the necessary time to reflect, consider, and ponder what we learn as we move through life's experiences. A thing learned quickly adds nothing to improving who we are nor what our potential might be.

Finally, the fray Luis de León room has an interesting history. The friar was a professor at the university. There was some contention between he and some of his fellow professors who were angry with him, his writings, and his interpretation / use of scripture. This was a time when the Inquisition was moving in full force to control doctrine via the Councils of Trent. One day he was removed from his classroom and imprisoned on false charges. Five years later he returned to his classroom, and according to history, walked in, stood in the cátedra (or lectern) and declared, "As we were saying yesterday..." (Decíamos ayer...). The implication that not withstanding the intervention of five years the learning process had gone on uninterrupted.

Salamanca is also home to the only double Cathedral (the old and the new). Built side by side and sharing an interior wall the old Cathedral (12th - 14th centuries). The "new" Cathedral was built between the 16th and 18th centuries.

First, the old Cathedral has one of the most beautiful main altars I have seen. It is made up of 53 individual scenes from the life of Christ with a Final Judgment scene crowning the altar. The colors are original to the work, boasting bright greens, yellows, pinks, blues, etc.

Some of the interesting aspects of the "old" Cathedral are the crypts. One in particular shows the deceased's soul being carried heaven-ward by two angels.

The room below was one of the first used by the Universidad de Salamanca. It is said that the professor would sit in the seat at the foot of the tomb, put his feet on it and lecture. Around the room were small cabinets where the students would store their lunches.

 One of the interesting adventures we had was climbing the tower of the "old" Cathedral and walking around the roof of both Cathedrals. This is the "cimborrio" of the "old" Cathedral (the dome immediately above the altar). Atop the "cimborrio" is a weather vane in the shape of a rooster, ergo its name being "La torre del gallo." These "cimborrios" are typical of buildings in the area of Zamora.

From the roof of the "old" Cathedral you can enter the "new" Cathedral where you get this viewpoint of the interior:

From here you climb a spiral staircase and come out on the roof of the "new" Cathedral where you have an amazing view of Salamanca.

If you go up just a little further you go into the bell tower. Just don't get caught up there when the nine bells begin to ring.

Both the inside and outside of the "new" Cathedral boasts so many aspects that I only have time to point out a few. First, the "cimborrio" of the "new" Catedral rises 90 meters above the floor. The center piece is a white dove with open wings. The cimborrio suffered damage during the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and had to be reconstructed. It is the work of the Churriguera architects.

On the outside of the "new" Cathedral you will find an astronaut, a monkey eating an ice cream cone, and a cocker spaniel! Why? Some years ago there was a need to restore the exterior of one of the porticos. In the process of restoration some pieces were unsalvageable, so the architects decided to continue the tradition of "playfulness"integrated into the façades and other decorations found in churches and Cathedrals. The result were these three figures:

Below are the students posed in front of that same portico:

Other interesting sites in Salamanca are: The Convento de San Esteban with its plateresque façade and depiction of the stoning of Saint Stephen.

This is the cloister of the convento:

One of the most interesting features of the cloister is a staircase (known as the "Escalera de Soto") the leads to the upper cloister.

Just under the last flight and under the windows that light the interior is the figure of a woman, leaning on one hand and holding open a book that rests on a skull. It is said that this is Mary Magdalene. Her presence here is a reminder of the inevitability of death. According to Catholic belief, Mary was a sinner who washes Christ's feet with her tears and drys them with her hair, a symbol of repentance and contrition. She is placed in a position that she is illuminated by the morning sun.

As if to reinforce the redemptive quality that the staircase represents, the posts are decorated with pomegranates and the underside of each flight of steps shows different phases of the flowering fruit. One symbolic value attached to the pomegranate relates to Christ and his redeeming of humanity The flower is a crown, the seeds inside are red and shaped like drops of blood. In the staircase it reads, "Fides quae per caritatum operatur" ("Only faith working in love"). It is said to originate from the medieval commentaries on the "Epistle to the Galatians" written by Saint Paul and it si all about the fulfillment of God's salvic plan through Jesus Christ and the proclamation of love and grace to all.

There is also the Monasterio de las Dueñas:

This is the Roman bridge made famous in the 16th-century picaresque novel Lazarillo de Tormes

With its statue of a bull. Below is the Rio Tormes:

Trip #3 (Part I) - AVILA

Avila is a beautiful, walled city just northwest of Madrid. Aside from its beautifully preserved Medieval walls (below), Avila was home to one of Spain's most revered Saints, Teresa de Jesús. 2015 is the 500th anniversary of her birth.

Saint Teresa is responsible for reforming the Carmelite order and establishing convents throughout the peninsula in the 16th century. These nuns in these convents became known as Descalzed Carmelites due, in part, to the strictures that Saint Teresa placed on those who took these vows. Saint Teresa practiced mysticism, which placed her in a category of Catholics who were under constant scrutiny by the Church for practices that challenged the established beliefs being espoused by during the difficult times of the Counterreformation. As a mystic, she, along with her confessor Saint John of the Cross, believed in the value of the soul and its divine origin and practiced "mental prayer." In her lifetime she was challenged by the male hierarchy and frowned upon for her teachings and practices. Some forty years after her death in Alba de Tormes (1622), Pope Gregory XV canonized Teresa de Jesús. In 1970 Pope Paul VI elevated her to the status of Doctor of the Church, one of the highest levels of sainthood that an individual can receive.

(Statue of Saint Teresa de Jesús)

Throughout the city there are reminders of her life. Below is the church, Parroquia de San Juan el Bautista, where she was baptized as a child.

 The next two pictures are: Left) The convent where Saint Teresa lived as a nun; Right) One of the first convents, Convento de San José, founded by the nun.

The city's Cathedral boasts not only a beautiful building, but a part of the city's defensive wall. The apse of the Cathedral is part of the exterior rampart that surrounds the city (below). It is one of the first gothic Cathedrals in Spain.

There is some symbolic value to combining the wall with the Cathedral; the defense of the city was also a defense against those forces that would destroy Christianity; thus the Church played a part in preserving faith. One of the first things that I like to show the students are the mason's marks that cover the north wall. These marks were used for the placement of the stones as well as to identify the individual responsible for its creation.

The north walls to the Cathedral is known as the Puerta de los Apóstoles (the Apostle's Door). In the door's tympanum you will find the figure of an exalted Christ in the typical mandorla (the almond-shaped space). One of the interesting aspects of the tympanum is a scene located in the row immediately above the door to the far right. It is a representation of the Last Supper. If you look closely (second figure below) you see a women under the table. This is Mary the Magdalen washing Christ's feet. This scene is common among sculptors and painters of the time.

The interior of the Cathedral is magnificently decorated with a mottled stone (known as piedra sangrada; an oxidized stone).

Inititated in 1499 by Pedro de Berruguete, the retablo is an amazing example of gothic art. The central panel offers a depiction of the Crucified Christ with thieves on either side. If you look closely you will notice that the one on the left mimics the Savior's reposed posture, the one on the right writhes in pain. A good thing to remember is that the perspective of the painting must be from within and not from our vantage point as observers. Thus the thief to our left is on the Savior's right hand and the other on his left symbolic of their acceptance or rejection of the Truth.

On either side of the central figure are depictions from the life of Christ. One representation (in the right picture, the upper right corner) represents Christ's visit to "purgatory"; what for us might be interpreted as "spirit prision" (below).

Cathedrals were often the site of crypts, especially of important benefactors. One could determine the the level of importance and association with the crown. One pillow was good; two better. We have seen images with upwards of four pillows, often those who were archbishops or nobles. Note that at the feet of this individual is a dog. Dogs are the symbol of loyalty and fidelity. When placed on the tomb it was to indicated the individuals adherence and loyalty to the crown and to the Church.

If you look closely at the columns you will see that they are elaborately painted.

Finally, two additional items of interest. First, the crypt below is of Alonso de Madrigal, "El Tostado" (this being his paternal surname). He is revered for his knowledge and wisdom. His faithfulness to the Church earned him the Bishopric of Avila. There is a phrase often used that states "escribir más que el Tostado" ("write more than el Tostado") is used when someone wants to express the extreme knowledge and intellectual capacity of an individual.

Second, there is this little altar tucked away in the back corner. It reads, "Alms to marry (off) young orphan girls." To this day money is collected just for this cause!

Avila has some beautiful places to visit, but my favorite has always been the Iglesia de San Vicente.

With its bilateral chapels on either side of the apse, the transcept and cimborrio of the church. Along the cornise of the church you will see beautifully carved "canecillos"("corbels"), the little heads and figures that adorn the roofline, San Vicente is a magnificent example of a romanesque church.

The interior is no less amazing. The church sits on the site where Vicente's siblings, Sabina and Cristeta, were martyred for refusing to submit to paganism. Supposedly their remains can be found in the "cenotafio" located near the main altar (below).

One of my favorite details of the church is this sweet statue of the Virgin Mary and Christ child. Unlike so many representations that depict Christ as a stiff figure, this one shows him looking deeply into his mother's face as he reaches with his hand to caress her face. This is the intimate Christ that I imagine.

So that you know that not everything we do is "academic," we did take time to walk along the top of thc city walls. From this vantage point you can see all angles of the city both within and without. We had a great time!

And, here is a picture of some of the students we found wandering around the walls.