PATIO CHICO

The origin of Salamanca is located on San Vicente Hill, where a settlement from the First Iron Age has been documented, occupied between the 8th and 4th centuries BC. From the 4th century onwards, the population moved to the Teso de las Catedrales, where the Salmántica fort was developed during the Second Iron Age. This hill would, from then on, be the nucleus around which the city would evolve until today. Its inhabitants built a monumental wall that protected an enclosure of about 17 hectares. With the arrival of Rome, Salmantica was integrated into the province of Lusitania, remaining populated until the Visigothic era.

The Muslim invasion marked the beginning of a long period of decline and depopulation, which would not be reversed until the early 12th century. After the conquest of Toledo in 1085, King Alfonso VI promoted the repopulation of the city. In this context, the Cerca Vieja was built, a walled enclosure that encompassed about 24 hectares with five main gates. Within it, the city was organized into colaciones -neighborhoods linked to parishes- where diverse groups of re-settlers coexisted, which gave Salamanca a notable cultural diversity.

Becoming an episcopal see, the construction of the Old Cathedral began in the mid-12th century. Around it, the Plaza del Azogue emerged, where the city's main market was held. In 1218, the Estudio General del Reino de León was founded, the origin of the University of Salamanca. Lacking its own premises, the first professorships were taught in the chapels of the cathedral cloister. With the growth of the institution, these spaces proved insufficient and some teachings were moved to nearby streets, occupying buildings belonging to the chapter located around the Patio Chico: the professorship of Law was on Arcediano street, that of Grammar in San Vicente, that of Decretals in other nearby dependencies. Finally, in 1411, Cardinal Pedro Martínez de Luna (Pope Luna) ordered the construction of the Escuelas Mayores building, which allowed university studies to be brought together in a single space.

The area around the cathedral became the residence of clerics, notaries, and hidalgos. Next to the Puerta de Acre, which directly connected the Old Cathedral with the Patio Chico, medieval notaries set up their scriveners' offices, and a significant part of the city's official documentation was signed there.

The old buildings surrounding the streets of the Patio Chico area remained standing until well into the 20th century. Their advanced state of deterioration led to many being demolished and replaced by modern constructions or landscaped areas.

In the shadow of the Cathedrals, in the heart of the Old Quarter, lies one of Salamanca's most emblematic corners: the Patio Chico. This space, intimately linked to the city's medieval origins, was the point from which the Old Cathedral began to be built, around which the first medieval urban core was formed.

The Patio Chico is a true haven of peace, away from the hustle and bustle of city traffic. Here, at the foot of the two cathedrals, the coexistence of two worlds is perceived: the Romanesque of the Old Cathedral, and the New Cathedral, whose tall spires seem to want to touch the sky.

The Old Cathedral stands out for its three Romanesque apses, impeccably crafted, with impost lines decorated with checkerboard patterns and beautiful splayed windows. But the gaze inevitably turns towards the Torre del Gallo (Rooster Tower), the Byzantine-inspired dome crowned by the famous weather vane in the shape of a rooster, one of the city's most beloved symbols. To its right, one of the doors of the New Cathedral opens, giving access to the transept, next to the neoclassical sacristy.

The streets surrounding this space evoke figures linked to Salmantine literature and history. From Patio Chico departs Calle del Arcediano, which leads to one of the city's most beautiful gardens: the Huerto de Calixto y Melibea, the literary setting of La Celestina. The street's name, already cited in the work, comes from a medieval dwelling that existed on the site of the current garden and was demolished in 1862. It belonged to Diego López, archdeacon of Ledesma, whose Gothic sepulchre is preserved in the transept of the Old Cathedral. Later it passed to the Chapter and was the residence, among others, of Bishop Alfonso de Paradinas. In 1981, the space passed into municipal hands and became a public garden.

In the same small square providing access to the garden is the Casa de la Calera, today converted into a hostel for pilgrims on the Way of Saint James.

Retracing our steps, from the Plaza de los Leones one gets one of the best panoramic views of the cathedral complex. Before us centuries of history unfold: the Romanesque apses of the Old Cathedral, the Torre del Gallo, the bell tower with its Baroque dome and, to the right, the imposing New Cathedral, crowned by its neoclassical dome, which replaced the Baroque one designed by Joaquín de Churriguera after the damage caused by the Lisbon Earthquake of 1755.

Wandering through the streets, we find Calle de San Vicente Ferrer —the famous Dominican preacher who passed through Salamanca in 1412— and Calle de Doyagüe, dedicated to the Salmantine composer Manuel José Doyagüe, one of the most prominent musical figures of the 18th century. He was a Professor of Music at the University, master of the Cathedral's Music Chapel, and received the honorary title of Master of the Royal Conservatory of Music from the king. His sepulchre is in the Chapel of Santa Catalina in the Old Cathedral.

Very close by, on Carvajal hill —formerly called Buenaventura— is the famous Cueva de Salamanca (Cave of Salamanca), an old crypt of the Romanesque church of San Cipriano, where tradition and literature placed the legend of the place where the devil taught necromancy classes.