Salamanca
Salamanca

Facade Pontifical University and Clerecia

15 minutes
La Clerecía is the name given to the building of the former Royal College of the Holy Spirit (or Holy Spirit) of the Society of Jesus, built in Salamanca between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The facade of the Clerecía de Salamanca is monumental, Baroque style, and is divided into three bodies. It has two side towers designed by Andrés García de Quiñones, and in the central one there is a niche with the image of San Ignacio de Loyola. Originally, the towers were designed for the City Council, but it was decided to install them in the Clerecía so as not to break the horizontality of the Plaza Mayor.
The Baroque Facade has three doors, framed by columns in two overlapping orders and a swordsmanship with two side towers designed by Andrés García de Quiñones. The central fronton represents the arrival of the holy spirit, at the top there is a statue of the virgin and on the sides an image of Philip III and another of his wife Margaret of Austria. Andrés García de Quiñones is also the author of the patio project, one of the best examples of the Baroque.


The Church follows the classic model of Jesuit churches characterized by a single Latin cross nave and chapels connected to each other. Baroque style and houses inside retablos churriguerescos. The works began in 1617, and would not be completed until almost the end of the eighteenth century, under the direction of several architects, although the original plan is the work of Juan Rodríguez being the last Andrés García de Quiñones and his son Jerónimo, who would make the towers and the swordsmanship. The large dome 50 meters high has caused stability problems throughout history.


Royal College. Next to the Church and also forming part of the ensemble is the Royal College, the cover is the work of Jerónimo García de Quiñones. The College has an immense baroque cloister of three floors, the work of Andrés García de Quiñones, who also designed the main staircase
En la Clerecía destacan el interesante Claustro del colegio y la impresionante fachada de tres cuerpos de su iglesia.

Las obras comenzaron en 1617 bajo la protección de Margarita de Austria, esposa de Felipe III, al parecer como acto de desagravio a la orden por la prisión sufrida por su fundador, Ignacio de Loyola, por la Inquisición en la torre Mocha de la Catedral de Salamanca. Su construcción finalizó en 1754. La Planta general del edificio es obra de Juan Gómez de Mora.

Tras la expulsión de los Jesuitas de España, decretada por Carlos III mediante la Pragmática Sanción de 1767, se entregó el edificio a la Real Clerecía de San Marcos, con sede en la Iglesia de San Marcos. Ésta, posteriormente cedió el edificio (salvo el templo) a la Diócesis de Salamanca, la cual instaló en él el Seminario de San Carlos.

En 1940, se crea la Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, instituida por el papa Pío XII, y la Diócesis le entrega el edificio como sede. Pese a que en la entrega no se incluía el templo del Espíritu Santo, la Universidad Pontificia suprimiría el culto en él en septiembre de 2012 con el fin de darle un uso turístico. Sólo se permiten celebrar bodas de antiguos alumnos y personas vinculadas con la Universidad Pontificia.
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