ELIO ANTONIO DE NEBRIJA PARK

Salamanca, the “Golden City,” where Villamayor sandstone is omnipresent, has been transforming in recent decades into a green city, an increasingly citizen-friendly place. The urban area currently boasts approximately three hundred hectares of green spaces. Most of this large green area extends along the natural corridor located on both banks of the Tormes River.

Until not long ago, Salamanca turned its back on the river. Only those who depended on its waters for a living occupied its banks (tanners, fishermen, cattle ranchers, millers, or washerwomen). All those ancestral trades have been lost, but the great success of recent years has been to integrate the river and its surrounding areas into the city. Leisure and festive events have replaced the hard work of yesteryear. Athletes, visitors, families with children and pets, enjoy nature here and bring life to the riverbank.

One of these newly created spaces is the “Elio Antonio de Nebrija Park.” It receives this name in homage to the celebrated grammar professor of our University, who published the first Grammar in Castilian Spanish in Salamanca in 1492. This park is located on the left bank of the Tormes River, in the section between the Roman Bridge and the Rodríguez Fabrés Bridge. The Zurguén Stream divides it into two parts, connected by a metal walkway that rises over the confluence of the Zurguén with the Tormes. It has an area of about 28 hectares, extending westward into the Salas Bajas sports area and eastward to the Enrique Estevan bridge. To the south, it extends through the Miguel Delibes Park. The ensemble of these parks and sports areas constitutes one of the most important green spaces in the city of Salamanca. Meadows and rich riverside vegetation extend along both banks of the river, turning the vicinity of the Roman Bridge into one of the city's lungs. From here, there are magnificent views of the Teso de las Catedrales, but, being deciduous vegetation, the panorama changes extraordinarily with the passing of the seasons.

On the second Easter Monday, these meadows are filled with young people who go down to the riverbank to celebrate Lunes de Aguas, eating the typical hornazo. On that day, according to tradition, the prostitutes, who resided in Tejares, returned to Salamanca. They returned in boats in a peculiar procession presided over by the “Father of Whores” (Padre Putas). They celebrated their return by eating a bun filled with chorizo, ham, pork loin, and egg, products forbidden during Lent, a tradition that has been perpetuated in the Lunes de Aguas festival. During the city's patron saint festivities - San Juan de Sahagún and Virgen de la Vega - it is the chosen spot to enjoy the fireworks. Festival, tradition, sport, and leisure come together to fill the riverbanks with life.

The park offers numerous leisure possibilities for citizens. From walking its paths, cycling on the bike path that crosses it, or playing sports on its courts and athletic tracks.