CONVENT OF SAN ESTEBAN

In the tour of the convent, the following spaces can be visited:

1.- SCULPTURE OF FRANCISCO DE VITORIA Before reaching the Convento de San Esteban, we see the sculpture that Salamanca dedicated in 1975 to Francisco de Vitoria, precursor of human rights and International Law. According to an ancient tradition, when gout prevented him from walking to the university, his students carried him on a litter to the classrooms, driven by admiration and the desire to continue learning from their theology master.

2.- BRIDGE OVER SANTO DOMINGO STREAM To access the esplanade in front of the San Esteban church, one must cross the small bridge that stands over the Santo Domingo Stream. It was commissioned by the Dominican Domingo de Soto upon his return from the Council of Trent. It is a single-arch bridge built with Villamayor stone. It is fascinating to admire, from the esplanade preceding the church, the majesty of its facade. The Plateresque reliefs and sculptures, masterfully carved into Villamayor stone, possess such fineness that many doubt they are truly carved in rock. The beauty of this facade is undeniable at any time of day, but it reaches its maximum splendor at summer sunset, when the stone turns an intense red, offering an unforgettable spectacle.

3.- THE FACADE The facade was designed by the architect Juan de Álava. Work on it took place from 1524 to 1610. It is one of the masterpieces of Spanish Plateresque. It is organized like a large altarpiece, divided into sections and bodies. It is sheltered by an enormous arch whose intrados is decorated with artichokes and coffers. In the spandrels of the arch, two large coats of arms of Cardinal Álvarez de Toledo, the patron of the work, are prominently displayed. Medallions, reliefs, and 23 sculptures on corbels and under canopies, mostly of Dominican saints, tell passages from biblical history and the history of the Order of Preachers through its saints and martyrs.

In the lower body, flanking the main door, we can contemplate four images of saints: Saint Hyacinth of Poland, Saint Dominic de Guzmán, Saint Francis of Assisi, and Saint Catherine of Siena. Moses and Elijah are depicted in the door's medallions. The second body is presided over by the large relief representing the Martyrdom of Saint Stephen, signed by Antonio Ceroni in 1610. It is flanked, from left to right, by Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Andrew, Saint John the Evangelist, and Saint Peter Martyr of Verona. Above the relief of the stoning, three medallions represent Job, King Solomon, and the Sacrifice of Isaac. A magnificent Plateresque frieze, considered one of the most beautiful in Spanish Plateresque, separates the central body from the attic. It features representations of mythological characters and animals. At the top of the attic, a majestic Calvary dominates the composition. Beside it, flanking it, are the figures of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, while at the ends stand those of Popes Gregory the Great and Leo the Great.

4.- ACCESS PORTICO TO THE LODGE The portico, built by Juan de Ribero between 1590 and 1592, consists of nine semicircular arches that follow the model of Italian Renaissance loggias and contrast, with their classicism, with the exuberant Plateresque decoration of the facade. Medallions in the spandrels depict saints of the Order of Preachers. The upper floor, located above the lodge, which was the old library, now houses the museum of sacred art.

5. THE LODGE In the vault of the lodge corridor, five canvases depict some of the most relevant figures in the convent's history: Francisco de Vitoria, Melchor Cano, Diego de Deza, Cardinal Álvarez de Toledo, and Domingo de Soto.

6.- THE CLAUSTRO DE LOS REYES (OR PROCESSION CLOISTER) It was built over the space occupied by the 14th-century cloister, of which several walled-up doors can still be seen in the walls. It was built by the Dominican architect Fray Martín de Santiago. It is the main cloister, known as "Procession Cloister" or "Kings' Cloister." It has two superimposed galleries, the lower one with twenty windows and the upper one with forty.

On the ground floor, Gothic and Renaissance elements are mixed. The Renaissance semicircular arches are divided by small columns in the manner of Gothic cloisters. The vaults feature a complicated system of stellar ribs with polychrome keystones. In the four corners of the cloister, there are niches representing the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Kings, and the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. Medallions, with busts and names of Old Testament prophets, adorn the inner face of the pillars supporting the vaults.

Each of the doors opening onto the cloister has, above it, a stone-carved image of the Order's most important saints. The two doors opening onto the south wing provide access to the Salón de Profundis, one of the convent's oldest spaces, where the community prayed for the souls of the deceased when going to and returning from the refectory. From here, one passes to the Claustro de los Aljibes (Cistern Cloister) and the old infirmary. This part of the convent is usually closed to tourism.

In the east wing of the cloister, separate doors provide access to the Old Chapter House (15th century) and the New Chapter House (17th century).

• The Old Chapter House is one of the convent's oldest dependencies. It served as a cemetery for the community's most illustrious sons, hence it houses the remains of Francisco de Vitoria and Domingo de Soto. In the Old Chapter House, the community of Dominican friars made decisions that marked the course of humanity, such as supporting Christopher Columbus or participating in the evangelization of America. Within its walls, human rights and international law were conceived. • The New Chapter House was inaugurated in 1667. It was financed by Fray Íñigo de Brizuela, Bishop of Segovia. The entrance features a niche with the figure of Saint Stephen. It is already Mannerist in style, and its walls are adorned with portraits of the convent's favorite sons. It is currently used as a conference hall. • The last door in this gallery provides access to the Soto Staircase.

In the north wing of the lower cloister, adjacent to the church, five small doors open, corresponding to as many confessionals. Each has a small space for the confessor and a grated window opening onto the chapels on the Epistle side of the church. According to an ancient tradition, Saint Teresa of Ávila confessed in one of them.

7.- THE SOTO STAIRCASE In the northeast corner of the cloister, a door opens to the Soto Staircase, connecting the lower and upper cloisters. It dates from 1553 and was funded by Domingo de Soto upon his return from the Council of Trent. It is a cantilevered staircase, without supports holding its heavy granite steps. It was built by the architect Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón and was considered a feat of architecture of its time, so much so that in the 18th century it was copied in some of the most important Baroque buildings in Salamanca.

8.- THE SACRISTY The sacristy, with access from the stairwell, is the work of architects Alonso Sardiña and Juan Moreno, begun in 1627 and sponsored by Fray Pedro de Herrera Suárez, professor at the University of Salamanca, prior of the convent, and bishop of several Spanish cities.

Its large dimensions and classicist decoration based on fluted pilasters are notable. The large cabinets are embedded in the arches that open in the walls. Various display cases exhibit liturgical ornaments. The head and foot walls resemble triumphal arches, with a broken pediment to accommodate a niche with the image of the Virgin, at the head, and Saint Dominic at the foot, above the door. On the left wall, within an arcosolium, is the kneeling sculpture of the founder. On the opposite wall, a niche houses the urn with his remains.

7.- CHAPEL OF LOS BONAL In the head of this small chapel, an antechamber to the church, is the marble cenotaph dedicated to Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba. It was made in 1984 by Fernando Chueca Goitia. It houses the bust of the Great Duke under an arch, a copy of the one made by Pompeo Leoni.

8.- THE CHURCH OF SAN ESTEBAN The patron of the current church of San Esteban was Cardinal Juan Álvarez de Toledo, son of the second Duke of Alba, who had been a friar in this convent. The church was designed by the architect Juan de Álava. Its construction began in 1524 under the direction of said architect, to be subsequently continued by Fray Martín de Santiago, Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón, and Juan de Ribero, being consecrated in 1610. It is a Latin cross plan church, with a single nave 87 m long and chapels open between the buttresses. Despite the late dates when it was begun, its style, in general terms, is late-Gothic. The nave features very flat rib vaults, reflecting a late Gothic style. The keystones are decorated with Plateresque-style rosettes. Above the transept rises the dome built by Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón, already in Renaissance style. It displays beautiful polychrome keystones decorated with images of saints, highlighting the central keystone representing the Coronation of the Virgin. The large dimensions of the presbytery and the choir located at the foot of the church and supported by a large depressed arch are noteworthy.

The presbytery, elevated above the rest of the church, is presided over by the grandiose altarpiece made at the end of the 17th century by José de Churriguera, considered one of the most important altarpieces of the Spanish Late Baroque. It rises on an elevated base in which two lateral doors open, providing access to the old crypt. The central body is articulated with six large giant order Solomonic columns, decorated with tendrils and vine leaves, symbols of the Eucharist. In the lateral sections, two niches open with sculptures of Saint Dominic de Guzmán, on the Epistle side, and Saint Francis of Assisi, on the Gospel side. The center of the altarpiece is presided over by the great expositor of the Blessed Sacrament. The tabernacle-sanctuary resembles a small temple, with a dome and Solomonic columns. In the center of the attic, a large painting, made by Claudio Coello, represents the Stoning of Saint Stephen. The transept altarpieces are dedicated to Saint Dominic de Guzmán, on the Gospel side, and Saint Thomas Aquinas, on the Epistle side.

In the Gospel transept, the Chapel of the Rosary opens, like a triumphal arch. It has a Baroque altarpiece made by José de Churriguera, with the image of the Virgin of the Rosary gifted by Pope Pius V in the 16th century. Above the arch is a mural painting by Antonio Villamayor representing the Coronation of the Virgin. In the south transept is the exit door to the cloister, dedicated to Saint Joseph, with delicate grotesques decoration.

9. THE UPPER CLOISTER The upper cloister is fully Renaissance in style, with semicircular arches resting on pilasters and Plateresque capitals, medallions in the spandrels, and a simple wooden ceiling. In the northwest corner of the northern gallery, separate doors provide access to the choir and the old library, which now houses the museum.

10.-THE CHOIR Access to the choir from the cloister is through a beautiful and original Plateresque door presided over by the coat of arms of Fray Juan Álvarez de Toledo. Located at the foot of the temple, it stands on three sections of depressed vaults. The first thing that draws attention is the spectacular view of the church nave, with José de Churriguera's altarpiece presiding over the high altar. The walnut choir stalls were designed by Alonso Balbás in the mid-17th century. Its ornamentation, already Mannerist, is reduced to geometric designs. In the prior's chair, there is a niche with the image of Saint Dominic, and above it, a painting of the Virgin and Child, a copy of Rubens' original which is in the museum. A gigantic fresco, made in 1705 by Antonio Palomino, covers the back wall of the choir. It represents, on two planes, the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant.