Patio de las Escuelas, Salamanca

Opposite the front of the University is the Patio de las Escuelas, in the center of which can be seen a monument to Fray Luis de León (1869). Around it are buildings in pure Plateresque style, giving it a very characteristic atmosphere of its own.

Patio de las Escuelas Map

Related Attractions

Hospital del Estudio

The southwest side of the Patio de las Escuelas is occupied by a long range of buildings with ornamental openwork battlements crowning the facade. The left-hand doorway leads into the Hospital del Estudio, built in 1533 as a hospice for students; it is now the Rector's Office.

Lesser Schools

The right-hand half of the Hospital del Estudio is occupied by the Escuelas Menores, the courtyard of which is entered through a double-arched doorway, splendidly decked with coats of arms, followed by a vestibule. Other items of interest are works of sculpture by Felipe de Vigarny and pictures by Juan de Vigarny.

Cielo de Salamanca

The Sala Calderón de la Barca has decorative elements from the old University Library, including particularly the fine ceiling painting by Fernando Gallego (ca. 1480) known as the "Cielo de Salamanca", which illustrates the state of knowledge of astronomy in the late fifth Ccntury. Some of the painting has been lost, but it is still possible to see the signs of the Zodiac, a number of constellations and the four winds.

Provincial Museum of Art

On the far side of the Patio de las Escuelas is the entrance to the Provincial Museum of Art, housed in the Palacio de los Abarca Alcaraz, which was built in the late 15th century by Isabella the Catholic's personal physician. The main front faces on to the Plaza Fray Luis de León. The collection, displayed in nine rooms, consists mainly of pictures of the 16th-20th centuries.