BOTANICAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK

At the beginning of the 21st century, the University of Salamanca planned to build a university library in the space occupied by the botanical garden's athletics track. Excavations carried out on the site unearthed the remains of two of the most significant buildings in Salamanca's history: the Convent of San Agustín and the Colegio Mayor de Cuenca. Both buildings were separated by San Pedro or Cuenca Street, whose cobbled remains can be seen today during the visit. This thoroughfare was one of the main arteries of the medieval city and articulated the Jewish quarter, which gave the street its name during that period. After the disappearance of the Jewish community, it was renamed San Pedro Street and, later, Cuenca Street.

Convent of San Agustín The presence of the Augustinian Order in Salamanca dates back to the Middle Ages. The Augustinians settled in the Jewish quarter and, between the 12th and 14th centuries, acquired numerous properties. In 1377, the bishop ceded San Pedro parish to them, an old Romanesque church that became the nucleus of the future convent, whose construction was begun by Juan de Álava in 1516.

The building underwent various reforms and several fires that destroyed its famous library. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the convent consolidated itself as the main Augustinian house of studies in Spain: notable figures such as San Juan de Sahagún, Santo Tomás de Villanueva, and Fray Luis de León professed or taught there. Its prestige led it to be known as “a house of scholars and a house of saints.” In addition, it had its own university college, San Guillermo, aimed at training missionaries destined for the Indies.

After its ruin at the hands of the French army, the Augustinians returned in 1815 with the intention of restoring it, but the disentailment of 1835 forced them to abandon it definitively. The remains visible today correspond to the northwestern sector of the convent, barely a quarter of the 10,000 m² it once occupied; another part was affected by the construction of the University's car park, and the rest remains under Balmes Street.

Colegio Mayor de Cuenca The construction of the Colegio Mayor de Cuenca began in 1527 on the initiative of Diego Ramírez de Villaescusa, Bishop of Cuenca and former student of the University of Salamanca. Cuenca was one of the six Colegios Mayores existing in Spain, four of them located in Salamanca. As with the Augustinian convent, the project was the work of the prestigious architect Juan de Álava, and its execution —which extended until the 18th century— involved prominent Baroque masters, such as Alberto de Churriguera or Andrés García de Quiñones.

The construction of the college involved a complex and prolonged urban operation that entailed the purchase and demolition of at least 36 houses, including a synagogue. The building had a quadrangular plan organized around a porticoed cloister, and the main dependencies —chapel, sacristy, general hall, and archive— were located on the north facade, facing the University.

After the suppression of the Colegios Mayores in 1798, the Colegio de Cuenca passed into the hands of the University of Salamanca, which planned various uses for the building, including a Botanical Garden, although it never materialized. During the Peninsular War, under French occupation, the building was used as barracks and finally demolished in 1812 for strategic reasons and to reuse its stone in defensive works.

Since then, the site housed different uses —residences, workshops, Salamanca's second electricity factory— until, in the second half of the 20th century, the University built sports courts on it, which remained in use until the end of the century.

Archaeological excavations carried out in 2001, as part of a project —ultimately not executed— to build a large Humanities library for the University of Salamanca, allowed the recovery of the remains that can be visited today. Its enhancement has been possible thanks to the collaboration between the City Council of Salamanca and the University, which have joined efforts to bring this valuable fragment of the city's history closer to the public.

Along the itinerary, there is signage with information with information that allows the interpretation of the preserved archaeological remains:

THE VIEWPOINT It is recommended to start the visit at the Viewpoint, whose elevated position allows for a complete panoramic view of the site. From this point, the remains of two buildings of enormous historical value, forgotten after their destruction in the 19th century, can be distinguished: the Convent of San Agustín and the Colegio Mayor de Cuenca. Both followed parallel trajectories: their construction began in the 16th century, they achieved great relevance as religious and academic centers, and they were plundered and destroyed by the French army during the Peninsular War. Between them ran San Pedro Street, a thoroughfare of great importance since medieval times that disappeared with subsequent urban transformations.

THE ARCH OF THE HERMITAGE OF SAN GREGORIO Next to the entrance to the Archaeological Park, you can see the remains of the entrance arch to the old hermitage of San Gregorio, which was located on the street of the same name, near the Roman Bridge. They were moved here in 1991 and integrated into a triumphal arch built in concrete.

COLEGIO DE CUENCA The tour through the interior of the park first leads us to the dependencies of the Colegio Mayor de Cuenca. What is preserved represents barely a quarter of the original complex, which came to occupy about 8,400 m² in the space between San Pedro Street and Vaguada de la Palma. Essential areas, such as the cloister, remain unexcavated.

• The Forest The College had a garden located southwest of the cloister. In this space, a structure was found that appears to correspond to the building's main drain, reused after the destruction of the college to channel the neighborhood's wastewater towards the gully that ran through Vaguada de la Palma.

• The Cloister Although it has not been excavated, it is known to have been a true masterpiece of the Spanish Renaissance, in whose construction Juan de Álava and his son Pedro de Ivarra participated. It was a two-story square courtyard, surrounded by richly decorated arched galleries. On the upper floor alone, it had eighty medallions—forty on each side of the galleries.

• The Main Facade At the northern end of the site, the foundations of the main facade are preserved, one of the most sumptuous parts of the building along with the monumental staircase. It was built in the 18th century by Andrés García de Quiñones. The entrance was crowned by sculptures with both cultured and profane themes. After crossing the main door of the college, one accessed the most representative rooms: to the west, the general hall, the rectory, and the archive, and towards San Pedro Street, the sacristy and the chapel were located.

• The Unfinished Chapel When Charles IV decreed the suppression of the Colegios Mayores in 1798, the chapel was still unfinished due to lack of funds, so it was never completed. On the ground, the foundations with the semicircular apse oriented towards the east can be seen.

•The Power Plant At the beginning of the 20th century, the city's second electricity factory was built on the ruins of the chapel. Its foundations and installations irreversibly damaged the main facade of the College and the chapel, whose remains we see today razed.

San Pedro or Cuenca Street Both buildings were separated by San Pedro Street—or Cuenca Street—, whose cobbled remains appeared during the excavations. It was one of the main arteries of the medieval city and articulated the Jewish Quarter, which gave the street its name during that period. After the expulsion of the Jews, it was renamed San Pedro Street and, later, Cuenca Street. It disappeared with successive urban reforms after the destruction of the Convent of San Agustín and the Colegio Mayor de Cuenca.

Plaza de Cuenca and monumental staircase We are in a small square formed by the widening of the old San Pedro Street, next to the eastern wall of the Colegio de Cuenca. Facing this point, we see the space where the famous monumental staircase built by Alberto de Churriguera was located, which gave access to the upper galleries of the cloister. Today, only the perimeter walls, some remains of cobblestone pavements, and the footings of the pillars that supported the staircase are preserved.

Canteens (Pantries) These rooms belonged to the old college canteens, which were accessed from the cloister. In one of the doorways, a Roman funerary stele was reused as a step. These dependencies were used as pantries to store food. The perimeter slate plinths could have served to place shelves or to support large jars, protecting them from floor humidity.

On the other side of San Pedro Street, we find the remains of the Convent of San Agustín.

REMAINS OF THE CONVENT OF SAN AGUSTÍN

• The Granary (Cilla) In the southern area, next to the car park, the old convent warehouses are preserved. The long wall we see is the only preserved vestige of the cilla or granary, the space in which we find ourselves. Large ramped openings allowed grain to be unloaded from the outside. Access was directly from the kitchens, whose staircase is located to our left.

An informative panel displays some tableware pieces found during the excavations, including a jug with the “IHS” symbol and a plate fragment with the emblem of the Augustinian Order.

• Infirmary and Jewish Quarter Houses The room with baked clay tile flooring corresponds to the old convent infirmary. In monasteries, the infirmary usually occupied a privileged place, both for its location and its hygienic conditions: it had to be warm in winter, cool in summer, and have windows and galleries open to the outside to ensure fresh air and allow for walks.

Under the floor of this infirmary and the subsequent rooms, the remains of a 15th-century dwelling appeared, predating the construction of the convent. These houses were part of the Jewish quarter and were modest, narrow, and deep constructions, with the shorter side facing the main street. The variety of trades present in the Jewish quarter suggests that many of these dwellings also included a workshop and shops.

• Guesthouse and Small Cellar Of the guesthouse, only the foundations of the walls and internal divisions are preserved, as well as a possible well that might have functioned as a latrine. This space was intended to accommodate pilgrims and visitors to the convent.

The small cellar, located below the building's ground level, has been very well preserved. It features a barrel vault constructed of solid brick and lime, and a cobbled floor. Remains of the staircase that connected it to the cloister gallery are also preserved.

• Cloister The convent eventually had two cloisters. The visible remains appear to correspond to the one built in the mid-18th century; the other, still unexcavated, remains under Balmes Street. The preserved pavement shows rich cobblestone work with quartzite pebbles and slate fragments forming geometric motifs, a common technique since the 16th century to embellish courtyards and noble rooms.

• Cloister Gallery The western gallery of the Convent of San Agustín's cloister features one of the most beautiful and best-preserved pavements. The floor was organized into four rosettes separated by friezes, forming an especially elaborate design.

• Church In 1377, the Bishop of Salamanca donated the medieval church of San Pedro to the Augustinians. The new convent church was built upon it starting in 1516, a work by the architect Juan de Álava. Most of San Pedro church remains unexcavated under Balmes Street. In the musealized space, we see the atrium through which the temple was accessed from the convent and part of the sandstone and slate slab flooring corresponding to the church choir's pavement.

The temple had a single nave with a transept and side chapels, a central dome, and a flat tripartite apse. The facade, with three sections, displayed a large crucifix in the central one and an entrance with concentric ogival arches. In the 18th century, Antonio Ponz noted that “few church facades in Salamanca deserve more attention than this one…”

• The Porter's Lodge Excavations brought to light a small part of the convent's porter's lodges. On the cobblestone, the symbol of the Augustinian Order can be seen: a heart pierced by two arrows.

• Exhibition Space The visit concludes in the space that occupied the old garden of the Colegio de Cuenca known as “The Forest.” Here, a small building houses numerous pieces belonging to the Convent of San Agustín and the Colegio de Cuenca. Noteworthy for their fine carving are the sandstone keystone bosses that once adorned the church of San Pedro.