TORRE DEL AIRE
15 minutes
The Torre del Aire was formerly known as Palacio de los Fermoselle and also as Palacio de las Cuatro Torres. It was erected in the mid-15th century in the heart of Salamanca's historic quarter, next to the former Parish Church of Santa Eulalia, which has since disappeared. Its slender tower stands out in its structure, being the tallest among those preserved in the city, as well as the lavish Gothic ornamentation adorning some of the windows on its east-facing facade.
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This palace, located in Santa Eulalia Square, is known by the names Torre del Aire (Tower of the Air), Fermoselle Palace, or Palace of the Four Towers. Not much is known about its origins. It seems to have been built around 1440 by the Castillo family, lords of Santa María del Campo, a lineage that received the lordship of Fermoselle and its land at the end of the 16th century, at which point the palace would be named Fermoselle Palace.
The house-palace was known, at least since the late 18th century, as the Palace of the Four Towers. For some scholars, the name refers to the four towers it sported on each of its four corners. The historian Villar y Macías states that the other three towers existed until the last third of the 18th century and were demolished due to threat of ruin. Other scholars believe it never had four towers and that the name is due to one of the palace's owners holding the title of Baron of the Four Towers. It was in the mid-1950s, with the urban reform that opened the current Plaza de la Constitución, when the building took the name of the street that runs along its north flank (Calle del Aire - Air Street).
The owners rented out the palace, which passed through different hands until it was finally sold. In 1727, it was rented as the headquarters for a cloth factory. Decades later, in 1762, an attempt was made to convert it into barracks, but its owner, Doña María Manuela de Moctezuma, Marchioness of Almarza, refused to cede it for that purpose. In 1818, its walls temporarily housed Irish students, although the rent price forced them to abandon it twenty years later. By the late 19th century, the house became a residence for the elderly run by the Little Sisters of the Poor, which gave the tower the nickname “Tower of the Little Sisters”. From 1928, the tower and building became the property of the religious sisters of María Inmaculada del Servicio Doméstico, where they established a female university residence.
Throughout its history, this palace-fortress has been reformed and rebuilt on numerous occasions, disfiguring its original appearance, with the most prominent elements remaining being the tower and part of the east facade.
The house-palace was known, at least since the late 18th century, as the Palace of the Four Towers. For some scholars, the name refers to the four towers it sported on each of its four corners. The historian Villar y Macías states that the other three towers existed until the last third of the 18th century and were demolished due to threat of ruin. Other scholars believe it never had four towers and that the name is due to one of the palace's owners holding the title of Baron of the Four Towers. It was in the mid-1950s, with the urban reform that opened the current Plaza de la Constitución, when the building took the name of the street that runs along its north flank (Calle del Aire - Air Street).
The owners rented out the palace, which passed through different hands until it was finally sold. In 1727, it was rented as the headquarters for a cloth factory. Decades later, in 1762, an attempt was made to convert it into barracks, but its owner, Doña María Manuela de Moctezuma, Marchioness of Almarza, refused to cede it for that purpose. In 1818, its walls temporarily housed Irish students, although the rent price forced them to abandon it twenty years later. By the late 19th century, the house became a residence for the elderly run by the Little Sisters of the Poor, which gave the tower the nickname “Tower of the Little Sisters”. From 1928, the tower and building became the property of the religious sisters of María Inmaculada del Servicio Doméstico, where they established a female university residence.
Throughout its history, this palace-fortress has been reformed and rebuilt on numerous occasions, disfiguring its original appearance, with the most prominent elements remaining being the tower and part of the east facade.
This is a privately owned building, and only its exterior can be viewed.
House and tower form an interesting complex that takes us back to the end of the Middle Ages, when the city was populated with fortress palaces equipped with towers with viewpoints from which the city was dominated. These palaces reflect the power of the nobility who built them, but also the tumultuous times in which they were erected, with nobles clashing in the celebrated Salamanca factions.
The palace's floor plan outlines a wide rectangle organized around a quadrangular courtyard. The building has three facades: the main ones face Santa Eulalia Square and Constitución Square, respectively, while the north facade faces Calle del Aire (Air Street). In the northeast corner, the tower was erected, the slimmest in Salamanca. Simple and of some interest is the facade facing the current Santa Eulalia Square, where the entrance is located, featuring a semicircular arched doorway with voussoirs. The windows of this facade were opened in the Baroque era, making use of some lintels decorated with flamboyant tracery.
The facade facing east, towards Constitución Square, is the one that gathers the most interest. The walls, restored at various times, are enlivened with a series of openings arranged irregularly and resolved in very diverse ways. Openings with semicircular arches are observed; lintelled openings; ogee arches; trefoil arches and pointed arches. Particularly noteworthy are two twin windows, adorned with delicate flamboyant tracery, and a third, located in the upper part of the tower, crowned by an elegant polylobed arch. The upper viewpoint is covered with a four-pitched roof, the result of later interventions.
Its interior appears to have been completely modified during the numerous reforms carried out over time. The courtyard has a single bay, parallel to the facade, which is now partitioned, although the columns with polygonal capitals that would have supported a lintelled wooden gallery are still visible.
The palace's floor plan outlines a wide rectangle organized around a quadrangular courtyard. The building has three facades: the main ones face Santa Eulalia Square and Constitución Square, respectively, while the north facade faces Calle del Aire (Air Street). In the northeast corner, the tower was erected, the slimmest in Salamanca. Simple and of some interest is the facade facing the current Santa Eulalia Square, where the entrance is located, featuring a semicircular arched doorway with voussoirs. The windows of this facade were opened in the Baroque era, making use of some lintels decorated with flamboyant tracery.
The facade facing east, towards Constitución Square, is the one that gathers the most interest. The walls, restored at various times, are enlivened with a series of openings arranged irregularly and resolved in very diverse ways. Openings with semicircular arches are observed; lintelled openings; ogee arches; trefoil arches and pointed arches. Particularly noteworthy are two twin windows, adorned with delicate flamboyant tracery, and a third, located in the upper part of the tower, crowned by an elegant polylobed arch. The upper viewpoint is covered with a four-pitched roof, the result of later interventions.
Its interior appears to have been completely modified during the numerous reforms carried out over time. The courtyard has a single bay, parallel to the facade, which is now partitioned, although the columns with polygonal capitals that would have supported a lintelled wooden gallery are still visible.