Charming and central square, which allows one to contemplate the residences of noble families who were once rivals, as well as the Church of San Benito, the pantheon of the Maldonado family, which was rebuilt in 1490.
The first is the headquarters of the Publications Service of the University of Salamanca, and in the second is located the Centre for Hispanic-Brazilian Studies. What was once the palace of the Comunero Pedro Maldonado has been, since the 16th century, the convent of the Franciscan nuns of La Madre de Dios.

In this square, one can admire the residences of noble families who were once rivals, as well as the Church of San Benito, the Maldonado family mausoleum, built in 1104. The original Church of San Benito, which gives the square its name, was Romanesque in style, but in the 16th century, by order of Archbishop Fonseca, it was rebuilt in 1490, with the collaboration of the Maldonado family who lived opposite. Over time, the church became the burial place for some of its members. The influence of the Maldonados extended from the Casa de las Conchas to the Plaza de San Benito, one of the places that has best preserved its urban structure. The church gave its name to the San Benito faction, one of the two factions that clashed for years over power. These factions were formed by illustrious noble families from Salamanca who sought to dominate the city.

This square, which opens around the Church of San Benito, still retains some standing buildings that witnessed the civil unrest of those years: the house of Pedro Maldonado Pimentel, who was captain of the Salamancan troops, today transformed into a cloistered convent, and the temple that Archbishop Alonso de Fonseca II renovated at his own expense. The other monumental buildings, which currently make this corner one of Salamanca's most cherished, were never seen by the Comunero Maldonado who lived there. The palace of the Maldonados de Morille, which Diego Maldonado had built on the site of what was once his uncle Francisco de Ribas's house, was constructed after the disturbances, and the house where Meléndez Valdés lived, which also extends along Compañía street and Sordolodo street (today Meléndez), was built centuries later. From the square, the Acevedo family palace has disappeared, located opposite the temple, on what is today Compañía street. Its site was occupied by the Jesuit College. In this house lived the Patriarch of Alexandria, Alonso de Fonseca II, a Maldonado on his mother's side, and his son Alonso de Fonseca III. Due to his proximity and having been baptized in said temple, Alonso de Fonseca II restored the Church of San Benito. The temple had suffered a fire that left it in ruins. The many coats of arms of the lineages to which the archbishop belonged mark both the interior and exterior of the church, informing passersby of the work's benefactor.

Plaza de San Benito

Free visit price

Address

Opening hours