The Plaza Mayor of Salamanca

The Plaza Mayor of Salamanca is one of the greatest expressions of Baroque art in Spain. In this case, the square is located in a space used, since the Middle Ages, for urban commerce and located close to the city walls. This area, known since the fifteenth century as the plaza de San Martín (because it overlooked the church of San Martín), however, was much larger than the current Plaza Mayor (almost four times larger) and even served as a place for feasts and religious ceremonies, in addition to the market. On the initiative of the corregidor Rodrigo CaballeroRodrigo Caballero y Llanes (1663-?) was corregidor (chief magistrate) of the city of Salamanca, but also the governor, mayor and judge of other cities in Spain (Valencia, Barcelona and A Coruña) during the reign of Philip V (1683-1746). A supporter of the Bourbons during the War of Succession (1701-1713), he took office in Salamanca in 1726. Three years after, on his initiative, the work that transformed the Plaza Mayor of Salamanca began. His picture is reproduced in one of the medallions that adorn the square., it was completely remodeled since 1729, in line with the urban theories of the time and the model of the plazas mayores which had already been built in Spain in previous decades. The first phase of work (1729-1735) was directed by the architect Alberto de ChurrigueraAlberto de Churriguera (1676-1750) was a member of the family who, more than any other, represented Baroque architecture in Spain. Maestro Mayor of the Catedral Nueva of Salamanca, in the same city he conducted the first phase of the construction of the Plaza Mayor. Often together with his brothers and nephews, he worked on the Cathedral of Palencia, the façade of the Cathedral of Valladolid and many other projects, also in Madrid., who was responsible for two of the four sides of the square, the Pabellón Real (the royal pavilion) and the Pabellón Real de San Martín (Royal pavilion of Saint Martin).  After a period of interruption of work due to disputes between the municipality and the owners of the houses (1735-1750), the work was completed with the remaining two sides, the Pabellón de Petrineros (the pavilion of the Petrineros) and the Pabellón Consistorial (Consistorial pavilion), by Andrés García de QuiñonesA native of Santiago de Compostela, Andrés García de Quiñones was an architect and sculptor who worked mainly in Salamanca. The direction of the last phase of the construction of the Plaza Mayor constitutes his most important contribution to the history of the city. (1750-1755). The architect, however, never carried out the project of the municipal palace, which included the construction of two side towers since there was a concern that the structure could not support the weight. They remained only in the model (maqueta) of 1745. In the following centuries the square has undergone several changes, which, however, have not altered the original structure. In the twentieth century, for example, the garden and kiosk which occupied the centre have been taken out. In its present form, the Plaza Mayor of Salamanca has the shape of an irregular quadrilateral, with 88 well-rounded arches. Among them there are a series of medallions depicting some famous people in Spanish history. In the initial project was only partially fulfilled, the king of Spain had to be represented on the Pabellón Real, the military leaders were to be on that of San Martín, while the most important sages and saints of Iberian history had to be, respectively, on the Pabellón de Petrineros and the Pabellón Consistorial. The first medallions were designed in the eighteenth century by Rodrigo Caballero and sculpted by Alejandro CarniceroAlejandro Carnicero (1693-1756) was one of the main Spanish sculptors of the first half of the eighteenth century, between the Baroque and Neoclassicism. Some of his works are preserved in the Catedral Nueva and the Plaza Mayor of Salamanca, in the cathedrals of Oviedo and León, in the Real Monasterio de Nuestra Señora (The Royal Monastery of Our Lady) of Guadalupe and in the royal palace in Madrid., many others have been added over the centuries, including those depicting the personalities who desired and carried out the construction of the square.

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