Old Cathedral

The group of cathedrals of Salamanca comprises the Old Cathedral and the New Cathedral, which share the great bells tower. The Old Cathedral or St María Cathedral is one of the most beautiful in its style. It has a Latin cross plan with three naves that are finished off in both apses, and an amazing dome over the transept that is known as the Torre del Gallo (Cock´ s tower).

Inside, we can see large naves separated by pointed arcades and covered by rib vaults. This structure of columns offers great number of capitals sculpted with marvellous sculptures carried out by several masters. The altarpiece of the Major Altar has one of the most important pictorial works in the town. It was carried out by Nicolás Florentino in 1445, and Jesus Christ and the Virgin´ s life is narrated on it. It is dominated by an image of the Virgen de la Vega in its centre.

The chapel of San Martín keeps Gothic murals of first order in Europe. It is very interesting the former cloister that was redesigned after an earthquake in 1755, with chapels such as the one of Talavera and San Bartolomé.