Interpretation Centre

The approval and development of the Special Plan of Cerro de San Vicente in 1997 and the subsequent execution of the Project for the Protection of the Remains of the Plant of the Old Convent of San Vicente led to the construction of a museum space on the cloister of the disappeared Benedictine monastery and the archaeological excavation of 400 m2 of the protohistoric town on the upper platform of the teso for public exhibition, the first steps towards the creation of the Interpretation Centre ‘Cerro de San Vicente’ in Salamanca.


The projects developed later by the Junta de Castilla y León and the City Council of Salamanca have allowed the definitive value of these spaces, making them accessible and passable, designing dissemination materials that facilitate their visit and dissemination. Finally, the exhibition of the interior of the municipal building built on the remains of the cloister of the convent of San Vicente, which deals with aspects of the site itself as well as the Via de la Plata.


Currently there is a program of guided tours organized by the Department of Tourism of the City of Salamanca, which allows access to the archaeological remains of the site, protohistoric and conventual, and the exhibition created within the museum.

PROTOHISTRIC RESTS

Inside a covered structure and from the walkway installed inside, you can see, in excellent condition, the traces of the first inhabitants of the city.

The exposed remains correspond to a portion of the town settled on Cerro de San Vicente during the first Iron Age, between the 7th and 4th centuries BC. Four complete houses and up to 9 auxiliary domestic structures (silos, pantries, granaries ...) linked to the main constructions that are distributed in two bands aligned around a transit space or “street”, a good example of the mud and adobe architecture that characterizes this culture.
These vestiges are accompanied by a series of panels with information and images that facilitate the understanding of the remains and complement the explanations of the archaeologists who guide the tour.

THE LOOKER

To the west: The Tormes

Oriented towards the west and on the trace of the New Fence, a viewpoint has been installed that allows to observe the urban expansion of the city in this direction, with the hospitals and the University Campus in the foreground, as well as the surrounding landscape and the valley of the Tormes.




To the south: The Silver Way

From the viewpoint of the southern part of the hill we can see the landscapes of the charro field and the access of the Via de la Plata to the city, crossing the bridge over the Tormes River from the Prado del Zurguén; an informative sign has been installed that interprets the space that opens before our eyes and transmits the history that encloses its places.





To the east: The Teso of the Cathedrals

The privileged and unprecedented perspective that the CSV offers of the historic complex of Salamanca becomes one of the main attractions of the place, added to the enormous patrimonial value of the enclave. For this reason, a viewpoint has been installed in the southeast of the hill to contemplate the majestic profile of the monumental city in the neighboring Teso de las Catedrales. A sign, with the corresponding explanatory legend, helps to identify the architectural landmarks that emerge before our eyes.

EXPOSITION

THE BUILDING

This museum space was designed by architects Juan Vicente, Pablo Núñez and Pablo Redero, promoted by His Excellency Salamanca City Council and awarded the National Prize for the Restoration and Conservation of Cultural Property “World Heritage Cities” 2002. It recreates with its own structure the spaces of the cloister of the old Benedictine convent, whose courtyard is integrated into the ensemble. The property itself is an essential part of the exhibition: cellars, floors, walls, buttresses and other original elements of the convent serve as an unbeatable framework for the contents developed in the designed museum.

The floor plan has an ‘L’ shape around the cloistered space, coinciding with the original structure of the historic building and a series of walkways and platforms facilitate the journey through its interior. There is also an external circuit through the perimeter moat, from which you can appreciate the impressive power of the implementation of the building on the hill and the impressive bill of the factories and buttresses of the convent of San Vicente. In the rooms of the museum an exhibition has been installed that focuses on two main thematic areas: the archaeological site of Cerro de San Vicente and the Via de la Plata.

THE FIELD

The visit starts from the main access with an introduction panel to archaeological research, urban project and construction of the building. It continues in the great space of the western bay, with a long exhibitor in which the emblematic moments and milestones of the history of the enclave and of the city of Salamanca itself are collected: its origin -represented by the protohistoric town-, its rebirth during the Repopulation -with the pioneering foundation of the monastery of San Vicente-, its monumental apogee in modern times -which illustrate the Benedictine convent and school- and its destruction and decadence -manifested in the local episodes of the War of Independence-.
As background for this room, two large tarpaulins are taken down from the deck: the first reproduces the famous engraving of Salamanca in 1570 by Anton Van den Wyngaerde; the second is a profile of the city from the south that includes the silhouette of Cerro de San Vicente, traditionally excluded from urban views and whose inclusion is claimed for its relevance in Salamancan history.
Then, in the southwest corner, the original pavement of the western room of the southern crunchy of the monastery, from the sixteenth century, is exhibited, with information about its origin, discovery and excavation. From this side you can access, by a staircase, the original cellars of the building located in the southern bay, a space of great plasticity and beauty. At the end of the tour, to the southeast of this floor, there is a room where a brief audiovisual about the history of the city is projected.

THE WAY OF THE SILVER

On the upper floor is the exhibition referring to the Via de la Plata, with magnificent views over the neighboring Teso de las Catedrales. The undeniable influence of this path in the historical evolution of Salamanca has motivated its inclusion in this Interpretation Center.

Here an exhibition sequence has been arranged on the historical road that begins with a replica and description of the mile 158 of the Calzada de la Plata and continues with an exhibitor, similar to the one installed on the lower floor, in which different aspects on the subject are developed: origin and history of the road, its passage through the province of Salamanca, the Roman Salmantica, the road in the ancient sources, origin of the name, the original route or its current situation and value. A succession of texts, images, plans and reproductions of archaeological objects contextualizes the relationship of the city with the Via de la Plata and the Roman road and reveals aspects usually ignored of this unique element of our heritage.
The exhibition is complemented on this level with a screen that projects photographs of the road and its surroundings and a video about its route in Salamanca.