HOUSE OF SAINT TERESA

The House of the Ovalles, belonging to the entailed estate of Gonzaliáñez de Ovalle —a city alderman—, was built at the end of the 15th century. Juan de Ovalle lived here, whose coats of arms are still preserved on the facade as a testament to his lineage.

However, its value transcends the architectural, as this building was the first residence of Saint Teresa of Jesus in Salamanca. The saint arrived in the city on October 31, 1570, the eve of All Saints' Day, with the purpose of carrying out her seventh foundation. Thanks to the efforts of her brother-in-law, Juan de Ovalle, she settled in a house of the Ovalle family, then located on Calle de la Alberca —today Crespo Rascón—. She was accompanied by the nun María del Sacramento. That first night, both remained alone in the house, overwhelmed by the mournful sound of the city's bells, which caused María del Sacramento's fear that some student might try to scare them.

In this same house, the ecstasy of Easter Sunday 1571 occurred, an episode that left the saint almost senseless and inspired her famous composition Vivo sin vivir en mí. The room she occupied was later converted into a chapel.

Teresa herself described the building as a “very large and dilapidated house with many attics,” located in the San Juan parish and close to the Alberca. She also alluded to its poor living conditions —humidity, cold, and insalubrity— aggravated by the proximity of the San Francisco stream's drains, circumstances that later led her to move the convent to Calle Compañía.

In the 19th century, the property passed into the hands of the Marchioness of Castelar, who restored it in 1876. At that time, the Provincial Commission of Monuments promoted the placement of a commemorative plaque of the saint's stay, whose text, written by the chronicler Villar y Macías, can be seen inside today.

In 1881, the Servants of Saint Joseph, founded by Mother Bonifacia, settled in the building. In their dependencies, they established workshops for sewing, rope making, and sacred ornaments, which also served as a training space for young people without resources. Mother Bonifacia, the first saint born in Salamanca, was canonized in 2011.

Today, the House of Santa Teresa continues to be the headquarters of the Servants of Saint Joseph, who have preserved the historical and spiritual memory of the two figures who marked the history of the building.

On Calle de los Condes de Crespo Rascón, at number 25, is Santa Teresa Square, a small garden area presided over by the sculpture dedicated to the wandering saint, a work by sculptor Amable Diego.

On the west side of this small square, there is an old and austere manor house whose sign indicates that we are before the House of Santa Teresa. On its facade, resolved with a semi-circular arch of large voussoirs, the original ownership of the property is evident through the two shields carved above the door, showing the coats of arms of the Ovalle, Varillas and Lucero families, and on the other, those of Herrera, Enríquez, Rodríguez de Villafuerte and Corvelle.

The facade leads to a paved hallway from which, through a door almost identical to the main one, access is gained to the secluded patio of the convent of the Servants of Saint Joseph. Two of its bays feature slender columns supporting a simple wooden gallery. In this gallery, the commemorative plaque written in 1876 by the Salamancan chronicler Villar y Macías is preserved, which recalls the ecstasy the Saint experienced in this house and which inspired her famous gloss Vivo sin vivir en mí.

Some of the rooms have been preserved as if time had stopped in them. One can still contemplate the room occupied by Santa Teresa, with its original coffered ceiling, now transformed into a chapel, the confessional, and the old staircase from which, according to tradition, the devil threw her.

In one of the rooms open to the patio, the workshop set up by the founder of the Servants of Saint Joseph is preserved. Currently, this space functions as a small museum that gathers personal objects of Mother Bonifacia and Father Butinyá. A small altarpiece dedicated to the Holy Family presides over the room. Distributed throughout the room are sewing machines, spinning wheels, and other work instruments that were used by Mother Bonifacia and her disciples in their daily tasks.