From January to May of 1985, I had the opportunity to study Spanish language and culture at the Universidad de Salamanca in Spain. As a junior at Penn State majoring in Spanish, the program was ideal for me. I lived with a wonderful Spanish family (none of whom spoke any English I might add!) who made me feel right at home with them. I was in the program with a couple of my best friends, so we had many good times together. We enjoyed shopping, travelling on weekends, and going to the various discos throughout the city. I remember that Titos, Birdland, Moderno and Puerto de Chus were some of the more popular ones at that time. Studying abroad is an experience of a lifetime that should not be missed by any college student who can fit a semester overseas into their schedule. As you will see by the photos that accompany this article, Salamanca is a beautiful city that is full of history. It is a town which you can walk easily. The city has much to offer in art and architecture with many styles, especially the Spanish Plateresque style. Below, I have summarized some of the various articles about the city's history that I found on the Internet.

The southernmost province of León, Salamanca, has as its capital the ancient university town of the same name. It is situated on the swiftly flowing Tormes River, and has many superb old buildings, weathered to a golden-brown hue. The most famous of these is the Cathedral, built between the early-16th and the mid-18th centuries, and reflecting the styles of architecture prevalent during the various stages of its construction. The university buildings and the fine houses around the Plaza Mayor are also particularly striking. Salamanca, throughout its long history, has been a protagonist of Spain's most significant historical events. Pre-Roman remains can be found in Teso de San Vicente, beside the River Tormes, in the verraco (Iberian statue representing a bull) situated in the center of the Roman bridge, in the city walls, in numerous inscriptions and along the Calzada de la Plata which, passing through Salamanca, united Mérida and Astorga. Salmántica, which belonged to the Roman province of Lusitania, was besieged by Hannibal and we have little information of the Visigothic era.

In 400 BC, Salamanca was founded by Celtic tribes. The Romans then annexed the city as part of the Province of Lusitania and gave it the name "polis megale". Christianity arrived in the city sometime before the year 600 AD and then the Moors conquered it some 120 years later. Conquered by the Arabs, lost and recuperated several times by the Christians, the city was definitively reconquered by the great pro-European King Alfonso VI. In the 12th Century, Salamanca was restored to the Christian monarchs and so began the re-population of what was to become the province of Salamanca.

In the year 1200 AD, King Alfonso IX founded what was to become the University of Salamanca eighteen years later. Salamanca thus owes its renown and prosperity to this king. The new University soon received great favors from Fernando el Santo and Alfonso X el Sabio who established the number and type of chairs the University was to be composed of. In 1254, Pope Alexander IV called the University of Salamanca "one of the four leading lights of the world". It was one of the first and most prestigious universities in Europe. Christopher Columbus came to the city under the protection of the Dominican Monks at the Monastery of San Esteban, in order to seek the endorsement of Queen Isabel the Catholic for his enterprise, which would eventually culminate in the Discovery of America in 1492. In those years towards the end of the 15th Century and the beginning of the 16th, Salamanca became a center of Catholic theology for the Counter Reformation as reflected in the Council of Trent. The 16th Century corresponded to a heyday in the history of Salamanca. The University was very famous and the construction of its principal building, undertaken in the 14th Century, was completed thanks to the Catholic Kings; its façade was rich with sculpture. Besides the University, a number of Renaissance colleges were also constructed.

The city took part in the War of Succession, on the side of Felipe V. Conquered by the Archduke's troops, it was soon recovered by the founder of the Bourbon dynasty, who stayed here for several days in 1710, when the construction of the Plaza Mayor (Main Square) was decided on.

Salamanca was badly affected by the Peninsular War. From 1808 to 1811, it was open to the armies who disputed the hegemony of Europe on Spanish soil. At last, the battle of Arapiles, at the very gates of the city and in which Wellington defeated Napoleon's army, led to the withdrawal of the latter from Spanish territory. But this withdrawal left behind the destruction of marvellous architectural treasures, many colleges, palaces and buildings such as the Colegio Mayor de Cuenca which was considered to be "one of the marvels of architecture". The role that Salamanca played during the War of Independence (Peninsular War) is particularly interesting. Just outside Salamanca, the Battle of Arapiles (otherwise known as the Battle of Salamanca) was fought. It ended in defeat for the French army and marked a turning point in Napoleon's occupation of Spain.

The origins of this UNESCO World Heritage City hark back to Celtic times. Polybius, writing in the 2nd Century BC, speaks of the city, referring to it as Helmantik. The bridge is a witness to Roman domination, and was constructed in the time of Trajan as an essential part of the Silver Route as it forded the River Tormes. At this point in history and again under subsequent Moorish occupation, Salamanca vanishes as an urban entity. With the advent of Alfonso VI in 1085, these lands were repopulated with Franks, Galicians, mountain peoples (Serranos), Navarrese and the like. Two centuries later, the creation of the so-called Estudio Salmantino (literally Salamanca Study), subsequently converted into a university by Alfonso X, was to prove the decisive event in Salamanca's emergence as a universally acknowledged city of culture.

In the field of Art, all the styles have left their most worthy and exquisite mark on this city. The Spanish Plateresque style, of decorative quality and fine execution, offers its most beautiful examples here in Salamanca. This decorative tendency of the Plateresque style finds its possibilities accentuated when carried out on a soft stone of a beautiful golden color.

Innumerable historical celebrities, from Fray Luis de León, Antonio de Nebrija, Francisco de Vitoria, Cervantes, Menéndez Valdés, San Juan de la Cruz to Miguel de Unamuno or Gonzálo Torrente Ballester, have passed through the city, both in the university field as well as in that of the Arts, leaving the mark of their knowledge on this beautiful city.

Industry assumes a high profile in the provincial capital of Salamanca and in smaller cities such as Béjar, while the service sector also plays an important role, particularly in education and teaching. The University of Salamanca is a centuries-old seat of learning of major importance which even today can claim to be one of Europe's most renowned universities. It is the university life, in all of its aspects, which adds emotion and color to the city's daily rhythm. Its tradition, its atmosphere today, make Salamanca apt to be considered, like Oxford and Cambridge, the Spanish university city. Salamanca is probably best known for having the oldest university in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe. This university is still what gives ambiance to the town. You can see hundreds of students passing through the streets and enjoying numerous and beautifully decorated bars until late at night (and perhaps you may wonder when they have time to study). At the end of the 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th, the University experienced a period of great decline, although one notable figure shines out in the form of the University's most illustrious Vice-Chancellor, and one of Spain's most influential writers, Miguel de Unamuno. The prestige of the University recovered little by little up until the 1960´s and has flourished since the establishment of democracy in Spain.

The province of Salamanca (population 363,000), situated in the South-west corner of Castilla y León on the borders with Extremadura and Portugal, covers an area of 12,336 sq. km (4,763 sq. m.). Lying on Spain's Northern Plateau (meseta), it forms part of the Duero river system where Paleozonic soils, poorly suited to cultivation, have resulted in a landscape of pastures, dotted with trees and bushy undergrowth. Winters tend to be relatively long, with minimum temperatures averaging around 6ºC (42,8ºF), while the shortish summers are marked by average highs that never climb above 20ºC - 22ºC (68ºF-71ºF). Nights can be cool, something which should be borne in mind by the traveller. Salamanca could never be said to be an exceedingly wet province (annual rainfall: 300-600 mm/11-23 inches), except in the Southern mountain ranges which receive over 1,000 mm (39 inches) of rain. This difference favors a great diversity of plant life, with holm oaks on the eroded flat lands, bushes and thicket in the foothills, and sizeable swathes of forest up in the mountains (sierra).