About this place
Salamanca is unusual in having not one cathedral but two, standing side by side and joined together. The Catedral Vieja, the Old Cathedral, is a beautiful Romanesque church begun in the twelfth century, with a remarkable domed tower, the Torre del Gallo, and a glorious painted altarpiece. Rather than demolish it when a grander church was wanted, the people of Salamanca simply built the Catedral Nueva, the New Cathedral, right next to it between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, in a mix of late Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque, keeping the old one attached. The result is a vast and fascinating complex. Its facades are covered in the intricate carving typical of the city, and here lies one of Salamanca's most delightful quirks: during a restoration in 1992, the stonemasons, by tradition, added modern carvings to the Puerta de Ramos, including an astronaut and a creature eating an ice cream, hidden among the ancient stone.
Key facts
- 2 cathedrals — An Old and a New Cathedral stand joined together as one complex
- 12 century — The Romanesque Old Cathedral was begun in the twelfth century
- 1992 year — A restoration added a carved astronaut to the facade, now a famous quirk
📍 Plaza de Anaya, 37002, Salamanca