LAZARILLO DE TORMES SCULPTURE

Next to the Roman bridge stand two of the city's most emblematic sculptures: the Vettonian boar and the sculpture dedicated to the anonymous work Lazarillo de Tormes. Two thousand years of history separate them, but they are united by their relationship with the most important work of Spanish picaresque literature, El Lazarillo de Tormes.

The sculpture is inspired by the celebrated passage from the work in which the blind man gives his companion his first lesson. The place where they are located is closely related to the anecdote narrated in the novel: "We left for Salamanca, and reaching the bridge, at its entrance was an animal of stone, almost in the shape of a bull, and the blind man ordered me to come close to the animal, and once there, he said to me:

• Lázaro, put your ear to this bull and you will hear a great noise inside it.
  I simply approached, believing it to be true, and as he felt that my head was next to the stone, he firmly grasped my hand and gave me a great blow to the head with the devil of a bull, so that the pain of the goring lasted more than three days, and he said to me:
  —Fool, learn; for the blind man's servant must know a trick more than the devil."

In the place where this sculpture stands today, until the second half of the 20th century, was the Santiago neighborhood, with medieval roots. This popular neighborhood was home to fishermen, tanners, and washerwomen, whose daily activities revolved around the river and the parish of Santiago. Unfortunately, the primitive church also did not endure, as it was completely rebuilt in the mid-20th century following some questionable restoration criteria.

The area around the Lazarillo de Tormes sculpture has become a meeting point and a starting place for cultural activities. Theatrical performances, literary events, and guided tours take place here, contextualizing the historical moment in which the work was written. In this way, the monument integrates into the city's cultural life.