Before touring Salamanca's many sights we couldn't resist walking again through the city's gorgeous Plaza Mayor that we'd first viewed on our arrival the night before. The plaza was celebrating its 800 anniversary in 2018.
As we walked around the square, we were able to spot the tribute to Miguel Cervantes, considered to be the most famous writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent writers. His novel, Don Quixote, is the most translated book in the world after the Bible!
In a corner, the Arco del Toro led from the square to a covered market.
The sculpture depicted the poet Remigio Gonzalez Martin.
The church on the right was called San Martin.
The Casa de las
Conchas or House of Shells was named after the 300 scallop shells that clung
to its facade. The home’s original owner had been a doctor who belonged to the
Order of Isabel whose symbol was the shell.
It now housed the public library which we entered via a charming colonnaded courtyard with a central fountain and intricate stone tracery.
For a bird’s eye view of the city and a panorama of its Old
and New Cathedrals, we climbed up the Clerecia
Torres across from Casa de las Conchas.
The towers were built as a way to be closer to heaven, a place where simply being there brought great joy. But it was also a place to scan the horizon. The towers literally were a Stairway to Heaven where we had unparalleled breathtaking panoramic views of the city.
In the center was the Church of St. Stephen that we'd see later that afternoon.
The courtyard of the Casa de las Conchas we'd just walked into:
The blue dome belonged to the Church of San Sebastian.
The New Cathedral's dome:
The last stretch to the towers was the original bell ringer’s tower staircase and had been restored.
I loved the Old Cathedral with its intriguing fish or reptile scales on its dome.
It was fun walking around the parapets to get great views of the two cathedrals, the city's other churches and the rest of the city.
On the way to another sight, we walked past the building that contained the Archives for the Spanish Civil War which lasted from
1936-1939.
The Art Nouveau Museum with its beautifully displayed collection of stained glass, vases, furniture and toy dolls was located in Casa Lis and was a donation from a private collection. We’d read that nowhere else in Spain would we see an Art Deco collection in a building from the same era.
Our mouths almost fell open when we saw the spectacular stained-glass ceiling in the entrance hall.
In the 18th century, ships belonging to the East India Company arrived in the European ports full of treasures from the East including Chinese porcelain. Europeans were dazzled by it and national workshops were immediately created in Germany and France.
The metal and enamel miniature furniture was created in Limoges, France, in 1881.
The museum had a collection of late 19th century superb bronzes from Vienna that were based on Oriental art.
I found the collection of Lalique glass items particularly outstanding.
A collection of early 20th century perfume bottles:
I hope you'll also love or admire these next few pieces as much as I did.
In the early 20th century, Europe enjoyed a period of peace and unexpected economic growth. The wealthy classes developed a new, easy-going carefree way of life, taking as their motto "Life is good." La Belle Epoque or The Good Times extended across Europe and converged around the beaches of the Cote d'Azur in France in the summertime. Cannes and Biarritz played hosts to stars of the silent screen, famous Music Hall dancers and Russian noblewomen fleeing from their country's revolution.
Aren't these German-made porcelain Bathing Beauties that were made in 1910 sublime?
I thought the Czech porcelain Woman with Clothes from 1930 was also beautiful. She looked like a young Marilyn Monroe to me.
Real mohair was used in the wigs!
Miguel de Lis, the prototype of the nouveau riche who made his fortune in leather, completed his new home in 1905. It was an example of a bourgeois home of a wealthy, cultured trader with refined artistic tastes. On his frequent trips to Paris and Brussels, he acquired all the latest 'novelties' that were the height of fashion in European department stores.
German dolls perfectly reflected the attitudes and expressions of young children.
French Dolls: From the mid 19th century, wonderful bisque-headed dolls started to appear from France. They were mannequin dolls which represented the woman's body and were used to present fashion designs intended for the aristocracy and the high bourgeoisie at the time. Over time, the most prestigious firms learned how to adapt and mannequins evolved little by little until the finally turned into children: the famous babies.
These were the biggest dolls I’d ever seen, standing at over 100 cm or 40" tall!
The number of dolls was overwhelming except for the most
committed doll lover! It was a spectacular museum but Steven joked he might have nightmares after seeing all the dolls.
The Art Deco Museum also had a significant collection of fans.
As gorgeous as were the museum's exhibits, they were almost outshone by the stained-glass walls throughout the museum.
Next post: The city's Old and New Cathedrals, Church of St. Stephen and a convent - think that was enough for our afternoon's religious content!
Posted on December 27th, 2018, from our home in suburban Denver.
Loved all the stained glass. Also "Czech porcelain Woman with Clothes" was outstanding. I agree with Steven that I might have nightmares after seeing all the dolls. Janina
ReplyDeleteJanina,
ReplyDeleteWasn't that stained glass absolutely gorgeous?! Happy to hear you liked it as well as one of the many delicate porcelain pieces. You can tell from my many photos, I sort of liked them, too!