PLAZA DE SAN BOAL
20 minutes
Hidden behind the buildings of Calle de Zamora, San Boal Square is one of the lesser-known corners of Salamanca's historic quarter. This tranquil space still maintains the essence of other times, preserving the old parish church of San Boal and the Palace of Arias Corvelle. The church, founded in the 12th century by Castilian repopulators, was completely rebuilt in the 17th century by the Marquis of Almarza. Of the palaces that surrounded it, only Arias Corvelle's remains, also known as the Palace of the Marquis of Almarza or San Boal Palace. Today it is a quiet square located between Calle de Zamora and Calle Toro, right in the commercial and financial heart of Salamanca. There are several nightlife venues very popular with Salamancans that set up their terraces in the square during the summer.
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Free visit price
- Individual - 0.00 €
North of the Plaza Mayor, and very close to the Plaza de los Bandos, a small square remains hidden from the view of everyone passing through Calle de Zamora, receiving its name from the temple located there, dedicated to San Boal (Saint Baudilius or Baudelius). The west side of the square is closed by the grand San Boal Palace, also known as Arias Corvelle Palace or Marqués de Almarza Palace.
San Boal Square, centrally located, gets its name from the church that presides over it, founded in the 12th century in the territory of the Castilian repopulators. In its origins, this space, which connected with Santo Tomé Square, was occupied by strong houses and palaces where some of the city's most important nobles resided. Urban reforms in the mid-20th century, and the lack of legislation protecting heritage, ended up converting most of these palaces into the large apartment blocks that today surround the square.
Today, only the Arias Corvelle Palace remains, currently divided into two properties, which has substantially altered its original layout and structure. One of the properties is occupied by the Japanese-Spanish Cultural Center (Arias Corvelle Palace) and the other by the San Eloy School of Fine Arts (San Boal Palace).
On the west side of the square stood the Marqués de Coquilla Palace, also known as the Duque de la Roca Palace, whose main entrance was located on Zamora Street. The rear wall of the building faced San Boal Square, and it featured a doorway flanked by two coats of arms. This doorway led to a spacious arcaded courtyard. In the second half of the 19th century, the palace was rented to the School of Nobles and Fine Arts of San Eloy until it moved in 1907 to the frontal San Boal Palace. In 1920, it was bought by the Civil-Military Cooperative, and in 1958, a modern residential building was erected, maintaining the old doorway approximately in its original location. Today, it provides access to one of the building's premises, occupied by a nightlife establishment.
San Boal Square, centrally located, gets its name from the church that presides over it, founded in the 12th century in the territory of the Castilian repopulators. In its origins, this space, which connected with Santo Tomé Square, was occupied by strong houses and palaces where some of the city's most important nobles resided. Urban reforms in the mid-20th century, and the lack of legislation protecting heritage, ended up converting most of these palaces into the large apartment blocks that today surround the square.
Today, only the Arias Corvelle Palace remains, currently divided into two properties, which has substantially altered its original layout and structure. One of the properties is occupied by the Japanese-Spanish Cultural Center (Arias Corvelle Palace) and the other by the San Eloy School of Fine Arts (San Boal Palace).
On the west side of the square stood the Marqués de Coquilla Palace, also known as the Duque de la Roca Palace, whose main entrance was located on Zamora Street. The rear wall of the building faced San Boal Square, and it featured a doorway flanked by two coats of arms. This doorway led to a spacious arcaded courtyard. In the second half of the 19th century, the palace was rented to the School of Nobles and Fine Arts of San Eloy until it moved in 1907 to the frontal San Boal Palace. In 1920, it was bought by the Civil-Military Cooperative, and in 1958, a modern residential building was erected, maintaining the old doorway approximately in its original location. Today, it provides access to one of the building's premises, occupied by a nightlife establishment.
A part of the square still maintains its old appearance, with the church and the old palace of the Marquises of Almarza.
THE CHURCH OF SAN BOAL
Erected in the 12th century in the territory of the Castilian repopulators. It was consecrated to San Baudelio —also known as Baudilio— a saint traditionally invoked as an intercessor against the plague and for prayers for rain.
The church was rebuilt in the 15th century, becoming the funerary pantheon of the owners of the adjacent Arias Corvelle Palace. It is a single-nave temple with a polygonal apse, to which a tower was added in the 16th century, attributed to Pedro de Lanestosa 'The Elder'. However, its current appearance is due to the reform undertaken in 1740 by order of the III Marquis of Almarza. During this intervention, the heraldic shields of the founders —the Herrera and Enríquez de Sevilla families— were renewed, and the image of the saint, a work by sculptor Simón Gavilán Tomé, was incorporated into a niche above the pediment. Today, the Church of San Boal has no cult and is a parochial center dependent on the parish of San Juan de Sahagún.
ARIAS CORVELLE PALACE- OF THE MARQUIS OF ALMARZA- OR SAN BOAL
The buildings of the San Eloy School of Fine Arts and the current Hispanic-Japanese Cultural Center were, originally, a single property. This palace, built in 1470, has received different names depending on the owners it has had at each moment: Arias Corvelle Palace, after the founder, of the Marquis of Almarza or Cerralbo, due to the titles received by the descendants, and San Boal because it is located in the square of that name. The building seems to have been segregated and united at various times in its existence depending on inheritances. In 1906, it was definitively divided when the part currently occupied by the San Eloy School was sold. The other remained in the family's hands until the death of the Marquis of Cerralbo in 1922.
From the time of its foundation, only two windows with Gothic lintels and the main entrance are preserved, although the latter has been greatly transformed. Made of Villamayor stone, it is decorated with a triple semicircular arch richly ornamented with bas-reliefs of vegetal and floral motifs. In the 18th century, the facade was decorated with the sgraffito technique, although the most significant change was the replacement of the windows facing the square with balconies supported by large corbels. In some openings of what is now the San Eloy School, the upper arches were filled with family coats of arms.
COURTYARD ENTRANCE OF THE PALACE OF THE MARQUIS OF COQUILLA
In the building located next to the church tower, a large entrance with a depressed arch and shields in the spandrels can be seen. It is the only element that has survived from the Palace of the Marquis of Coquilla, which was sold and converted into an apartment building where the entrance to the courtyard and the shields with the surnames Rodríguez de las Varillas, Monroy, Águila, Rodríguez de Ledesma y Sousa, and Vázquez Coronado were relocated. Today it is the entrance to a well-known cocktail bar.
THE CHURCH OF SAN BOAL
Erected in the 12th century in the territory of the Castilian repopulators. It was consecrated to San Baudelio —also known as Baudilio— a saint traditionally invoked as an intercessor against the plague and for prayers for rain.
The church was rebuilt in the 15th century, becoming the funerary pantheon of the owners of the adjacent Arias Corvelle Palace. It is a single-nave temple with a polygonal apse, to which a tower was added in the 16th century, attributed to Pedro de Lanestosa 'The Elder'. However, its current appearance is due to the reform undertaken in 1740 by order of the III Marquis of Almarza. During this intervention, the heraldic shields of the founders —the Herrera and Enríquez de Sevilla families— were renewed, and the image of the saint, a work by sculptor Simón Gavilán Tomé, was incorporated into a niche above the pediment. Today, the Church of San Boal has no cult and is a parochial center dependent on the parish of San Juan de Sahagún.
ARIAS CORVELLE PALACE- OF THE MARQUIS OF ALMARZA- OR SAN BOAL
The buildings of the San Eloy School of Fine Arts and the current Hispanic-Japanese Cultural Center were, originally, a single property. This palace, built in 1470, has received different names depending on the owners it has had at each moment: Arias Corvelle Palace, after the founder, of the Marquis of Almarza or Cerralbo, due to the titles received by the descendants, and San Boal because it is located in the square of that name. The building seems to have been segregated and united at various times in its existence depending on inheritances. In 1906, it was definitively divided when the part currently occupied by the San Eloy School was sold. The other remained in the family's hands until the death of the Marquis of Cerralbo in 1922.
From the time of its foundation, only two windows with Gothic lintels and the main entrance are preserved, although the latter has been greatly transformed. Made of Villamayor stone, it is decorated with a triple semicircular arch richly ornamented with bas-reliefs of vegetal and floral motifs. In the 18th century, the facade was decorated with the sgraffito technique, although the most significant change was the replacement of the windows facing the square with balconies supported by large corbels. In some openings of what is now the San Eloy School, the upper arches were filled with family coats of arms.
COURTYARD ENTRANCE OF THE PALACE OF THE MARQUIS OF COQUILLA
In the building located next to the church tower, a large entrance with a depressed arch and shields in the spandrels can be seen. It is the only element that has survived from the Palace of the Marquis of Coquilla, which was sold and converted into an apartment building where the entrance to the courtyard and the shields with the surnames Rodríguez de las Varillas, Monroy, Águila, Rodríguez de Ledesma y Sousa, and Vázquez Coronado were relocated. Today it is the entrance to a well-known cocktail bar.