Salamanca: house of quite important people
Salamanca is a reknowned city in Spain which, maybe because of being under Madrid’s large shadow, is not that famous abroad. Located in the old region of Castilla y León, it was part of the even older Kingdom of León since the fall of Al-Andalus.
Miguel de Unamuno
If there’s a character that has marked Salamanca’s 20th Century, that is Miguel de Unamuno. He was born in Bilbao, Basque Country, but worked for a long time in the University of Salamanca. His field was Ancient Greek Philology, but he dedicated great part of his academical life to Spanish lyrics, such as his delicious work about Quixote. Besides, he walked the slim path between literature and philosophy.
It was in the University’s auditorium where, in 1936, Unamuno delivered his famous speech “You’ll win, but you won’t convince, for to convince one needs reason and you despise it”. This is a contemporary fact which has had a huge impact in Spanish society. By the time he gave this speech, he was the rector of the University of Salamanca and the Spanish Civil War (one of the darkest and bloodiest episodes in European recent history) had already began.
Fray Luis de León is one of the most famous professors in Salamanca University’s history. This is his Statue in front of the College.
Fray Luis de León
Luis de León was a professor in University of Salamanca. He was kind of critical with the Spanish translation of the Bible, as a result, he was sent to jail. That is the kind of things the Spanish Inquisition wouldn’t like. If you’re a Monty Python’s fan, you will know that nobody could see the Spanish Inquisition coming, neither did Fray Luis. When in 1577 (almost five years later) he came back to the classroom he said: “As we were saying yesterday…” It is one of the most ironical quotes you’ll find in Spain and, at the same time, a chant for liberty.
His name in Latin was Luyssis Legionensis and he was born in Belmonte (Cuenca), we don’t exactly know wether it was in 1527 or 1528. Luis de León is a crucial person in the Spanish literary Renaissance. At the beginning, his field was St. Thomas studies, a chair he had to abandon when he got arrested. Therefore, in 1577 he taught Moral Philosophy and, after, Sacred Scriptures.
Vicente del Bosque
Mr. Vicente del Bosque (Salamanca, 1950) is a former footballer and coach. He played for Real Madrid during the 70’s and early 80’s. Some decades after, he was hired as coach, and led Real Madrid to win two Champions League in three years. After some disagreements with the President of club, he left Real Madrid signing for Besiktas. Nevertheless, many people consider that his greatest achievement is the Football World Cup in 2010 with Spain. That wasn’t all, but two years later he won the EuroCup, also with Spain. His success and good temperament got him the title of Marqués (Marquis) del Bosque, a sort of Spanish lordship.
The statue was made by Fernando Mayoral (Valencia de Alcántara, Cáceres, 1930) and represents the coach walking and saying hello with his usual humble charm.
Visit us!
Do you want to know how to get to Salamanca? Check out this article in our blog. Or maybe you want to go on tour in Madrid, on that purpose, here you’ve got our link in tripadvisor.