MIRADOR DE LAS CLARAS

The Convent of Santa Clara is the oldest of the female monasteries preserved in the city. Its origin dates back to the first half of the 13th century when a group of noblewomen decided to join a community to live ascetically and protect themselves when their husbands went to war. They settled in the hermitage of Santa María, giving rise to the beaterio (community of pious women) of Dueñas de Santa María. Over the years, and thanks to privileges from popes and kings, it became the Royal Monastery of Santa Clara.

This convent has been home to the Poor Clares community for approximately eight hundred years. In 2019, the nuns left this place to settle in other monasteries of the order. It is an emblematic space now converted into the Conventual Museum of Santa Clara. It showcases the great spiritual, artistic, and historical legacy that the convent has preserved over the centuries.

During the tour of the monastery, visitors can contemplate a rich number of artworks that bring us closer to the life and spirituality of the community of Poor Clares nuns. The highlights are the medieval paintings covering the walls of the lower choir, the cloister, the Baroque church, and the exceptional medieval coffered ceiling that was accidentally discovered above the Baroque vault of the church.

In the 18th century, important expansion and reform works were carried out in the monastery. During this period, the main façade, facing Calle Lucero, was built, and the so-called new work was executed, which reorganized the western area of the building and opened an exit towards Plaza de San Román. Between 1727 and 1728, the turret-viewpoint was also erected, from which the Teso de las Catedrales, where the most emblematic buildings of the historic city stand, can be seen.

The visual tour that can be done from the Poor Clares' viewpoint is truly exceptional. Many monuments can be seen from this turret, among which the Convent of San Esteban, the New Cathedral, and the Church of La Clerecía stand out.

The Las Claras Viewpoint is part of the tour of the Convent of Santa Clara, so it is necessary to purchase a ticket to visit it. It is accessed from the upper choir of the convent, via metal stairs. The panoramic view contemplated from here is novel, surprising even for the people of Salamanca themselves.

The Convent of Las Claras is located on the Cerro de San Cristóbal, in the eastern part of the city, separated from the Teso de las Catedrales by the deep valley formed by the Santo Domingo Stream, now channeled under Calle Gran Vía. From the tower, we have a very complete panoramic view of the city, with the bright blue sky as a backdrop, against which the silhouettes of the monuments are outlined. The buildings seem to be inside a painting, framed by the grid formed by the viewpoint's lattice.

Below our feet is the Plaza de San Román. It features a beautiful arcaded gallery that once belonged to the courtyard of the Casa del Conde de Francos, which disappeared when the Gran Vía was built. The courtyard was dismantled stone by stone and moved to the Colegio de las Siervas de San José. The agreement between Mayor Beltrán de Heredia and the Siervas de San José made it possible for the gallery to be brought outside.

If we follow the visual path from left to right, we first find the Convent of San Esteban, belonging to the Dominican Fathers. Next, in the heart of the historic quarter, the Cathedral rises imposingly. The New Cathedral dominates the historic city, seeming to embrace and protect it. To its right, the Towers of La Clerecía and the characteristic pavilions of the former Royal College of the Society of Jesus, currently the seat of the Pontifical University, stand out. In front of the Cathedral, the Colegio Mayor de Anaya and the dome of the Church of San Sebastián are distinguished. A green strip reveals the space occupied by the Plaza de Colón, above which the galleries of the Palacio de la Salina project. Finally, at the far right, the Church of San Martín and the bell gable of the City Hall emerge, completing this view of great historical and architectural richness.