a city in Léon, Spain, on the Tormes River (a tributary of the Duero). Capital of Salamanca Province; population, 125,000 (1971). Salamanca is an important transportation junction and trade center for agricultural products. Industries include food processing, metalworking, and the manufacture of chemicals, leather goods, and textiles.
In the fifth century B.C., Salamanca was a fortified settlement of the Vettone tribe. It was conquered by the Carthaginians in the third century B.C. and by the Romans in the second century B.C. The city was under Arab rule from the eighth to 11th centuries A.D. (with interruptions). Salamanca was ravaged during the Reconquest; the devastated city was resettled in 1102. The University of Salamanca, which was founded in the late 12th or early 13th century, became a major European center of learning. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Salamanca was renowned for its cloth manufacture and book printing. As a result of the general economic decline of Spain, the city subsequently lost its importance. During the national revolutionary war of the Spanish people against fascism (1936–39), Franco set up his headquarters in Salamanca.
One of Spain’s most beautiful cities, Salamanca has a comparatively regular layout. Its architecture is noted for its uniformity of building material (golden sandstone) and its stylistic unity (primarily the Plateresque and Churrigueresque styles). Noteworthy landmarks include the Plaza Mayor (1729–55, architect A. de Churriguera), the Romanesque old cathedral (1160) and the adjoining Late Gothic-baroque new cathedral (1513–1733, architects R. Gil de Hontañón and others), the Plateresque College of the Archbishop (1527–78, architects A. de Covarrubias and D. de Siloé), and the Plateresque Casa de las Conchas (1483, architect Talavera Maldonado).
a city in central Mexico, on the Lerma River, in Guanajuato. Population, 103,700 (1970).
Salamanca is a railroad and highway junction. It is a major center for the petroleum-refining and petrochemical industries. Artificial fertilizers are manufactured for farming in the central states. The city is linked by pipelines with the oil and gas industry regions on the Gulf of Mexico.