It is one of the most important buildings in Salamanca and one of the jewels of Spanish Renaissance art. The central building of the university was built in the year 1218 under Alfonso IX of León. Later, Alfonso X the Wise consolidated it as a reference as opposed to the universities of Oxford , Bologna and Paris . .


Many things have left their imprint on the university: humanism, America , Friar Luis de León, Antonio de Nebrija, Juan de Encina, Francisco de Vitoria, Ignacio de Loyola, Miguel de Unamuno, the Dominicans, the Jesuits and Abraham Zacut, the Escuelas Mayores and Escuelas Menores (Upper and Lower Schools ), the Library and its classrooms, the faculties, the students and their oaths, etc.

The jewel of the building is the plateresque facade built in the golden stone of Villamayor. It is believed that this facade could be a homage to the Catholic Kings for the privileges that they granted to the institution on several occasions. Inside, it houses treasures with a genuine renassaince atmosphere such as the Friar Luis de León classroom, a spectacular stairway and unique rooms like the very valuable library. In front of the University there are several equally beautiful annexes like the Escuelas Mayores (Upper Schools).