Introduction
Gothic building with Plateresque elements. Construction began in 1493.
Chronology
Late Gothic style combined with the new airs of Plateresque Renaissance. It began to be built around 1493 and construction concluded in 1503. Around 1701 the house was repaired and enlarged, and the façade facing Rúa Mayor street appeared.
Chronology
Late Gothic style combined with the new airs of Plateresque Renaissance. It began to be built around 1493 and construction concluded in 1503. Around 1701 the house was repaired and enlarged, and the façade facing Rúa Mayor street appeared.
Historical fact
The house was built for the marriage between Rodrigo Aryans Maldonado and María de Pimentel. Shells and lilies, symbols of both families, appear throughout the whole building. Throughout history it has suffered important modifications and restorations. At the moment it has become a public library for all citizens to use.
At a moment of major political and social changes, the Catholic Kings produced a definitive consolidation of the Monarchy and ended struggles for power. A court nobility was developed that was incorporated into the apparatus of the State in exchange for its submission and important social and economic privileges. They were influenced by the Renaissance through their contacts with Italy, which led them to develop a growing sence of pleasure toward aesthetics and the arts. The end of the nobiliary struggles for power and the definitive defeat of the Muslims opened up a period of peace. The cities became safe and the nobility left their rural castles and returned again to the urban setting. A revival of the city took place and the construction of civil buildings multiplied, especially urban palaces. This became a symbol of power for the nobility. Reminiscences of the old medieval castles can be seen in them: high towers which stand proudly over the rest of the buildings of the city, and a crest plate that reminds us of the battlements. The outer and inner walls are covered in heraldries and symbols of the lord the palace, who, proud of his condition in life, shows them to the rest of the citizens.
Salamanca wasn’t going to stay at the margin of this "rebirth", which is reflected in an intellectual awakening and an architectural expansion, an example of which is the House of the Shells.
The house was built for the marriage between Rodrigo Aryans Maldonado and María de Pimentel. Shells and lilies, symbols of both families, appear throughout the whole building. Throughout history it has suffered important modifications and restorations. At the moment it has become a public library for all citizens to use.
At a moment of major political and social changes, the Catholic Kings produced a definitive consolidation of the Monarchy and ended struggles for power. A court nobility was developed that was incorporated into the apparatus of the State in exchange for its submission and important social and economic privileges. They were influenced by the Renaissance through their contacts with Italy, which led them to develop a growing sence of pleasure toward aesthetics and the arts. The end of the nobiliary struggles for power and the definitive defeat of the Muslims opened up a period of peace. The cities became safe and the nobility left their rural castles and returned again to the urban setting. A revival of the city took place and the construction of civil buildings multiplied, especially urban palaces. This became a symbol of power for the nobility. Reminiscences of the old medieval castles can be seen in them: high towers which stand proudly over the rest of the buildings of the city, and a crest plate that reminds us of the battlements. The outer and inner walls are covered in heraldries and symbols of the lord the palace, who, proud of his condition in life, shows them to the rest of the citizens.
Salamanca wasn’t going to stay at the margin of this "rebirth", which is reflected in an intellectual awakening and an architectural expansion, an example of which is the House of the Shells.
Architectural element
The most prominent thing without a doubt is its facade decorated with more than 300 shells and multiple heraldries and coats of arms. The ornamental nature of the wall is one of the characteristics of the Renaissance. The facades of urban palaces were covered with ornamental elements such as diamond tips or picks. The originality of the House of the Shells is not only in the motif that was chosen, but also in the rhomboid position of the shells, which follows the Mudejar tradition. Around 1701 the building was enlarged toward Rúa Mayor street, and again shells were chosen to cover the walls.
On the main facade the door and lintel of two ornamental orders stand out. Toward the top we find the heraldry of the Maldonados, framed in curved and straight lined moulding. Toward the bottom of the lintel dolphins are represented, which is a Renaissance symbol of love, together to floral motifs. The four large Gothic style windows are also important and of exceptional beauty and variation. Each is different; this asymmetry is something characteristic of the Gothic period. Lastly it is necessary to make a reference to the elegant tower (which, in its day had a twin, and which, in later modifications, also lost a third of its own height) that stands so majestically above the rest of the city, safeguarding the message of power that the nobleman wanted to send to the rest of the citizens.
When passing into the interior, the visitor is fascinated by the originality and beauty of the patio, which again represents a symbiosis of medieval, Mudejar and Renaissance elements. On the bottom floor the mixed angle arches so characteristic of Salamanca stand out. The upper floor is completely Renaissance. The arches, partly mixed angle, stand on Italian white marble columns from Carrara which have decorated capitals. The railings of the balconies are decorated with honeycomb and white basketwork motifs, which are influences from Mudejar art. Finally, the roof has a railing made of fleur-de-lis flowers and gargoyles. On both the upper floor and the lower floor the heraldries of both families are repeated. In the centre there is a well that, in its day, guaranteed the supply of drinkable water.
Lastly it is necessary to mention the stairway and its three sections, which, following the Muslim tradition of preserving the privacy of the home from onlookers, is not in front of the vestibule. The first section opens up with the figure of a dog that is holding the coat of arms of the Porras, of whose lineage Rodrigo's mother belonged; the dog keeps and preserves the privacy of the home. The second section opens up with a lion that is holding the coat of arms of the Maldonados. The third section opens up with the union of the heraldries of the Pimentels and the Maldonados.
Other artistic elements
The grills have been characterised as one of the best example of Spanish Gothic forge work, and were done by Salamanca iron smiths. Their function is not only ornamental but also to protect the privacy and the security of the residents of the house.
The moulding on the ceiling of the second floor of the patio is made of hexagonal motifs surrounding a square. All the motifs are richly painted in white, blue and golden colours. The interior of the hexagons are decorated with floral motifs.
Curiosity legend
Perhaps one of the points that generates the most controversy is why shells were choosen as an ornamental element. Some historians see it as a show of pride of the Maldonados for belong to the order of Saint James. Other historians, certainly the more romantic ones, suggest that the repetition of the shells, a nobiliary symbol of the Pimentels, was an expression of the love that Rodrigo felt for his wife María.
The basements of the house later on became a place where the students of the University had to pay fines imposed by the Master of the school.
The coat of arms of the Maldonados crowned by a scepter appears above the lintel of the door. According to legend, the fleur-de-lis or lily flower was given to Aldana, an ancestor of the Maldonados, after conquering the Duke of Normandy in a dule. The King of France, to avoid the death of his son, gave (or "maldonó") lilies to the Aldanas, who, from that moment on, called themselves Maldonados.
The most prominent thing without a doubt is its facade decorated with more than 300 shells and multiple heraldries and coats of arms. The ornamental nature of the wall is one of the characteristics of the Renaissance. The facades of urban palaces were covered with ornamental elements such as diamond tips or picks. The originality of the House of the Shells is not only in the motif that was chosen, but also in the rhomboid position of the shells, which follows the Mudejar tradition. Around 1701 the building was enlarged toward Rúa Mayor street, and again shells were chosen to cover the walls.
On the main facade the door and lintel of two ornamental orders stand out. Toward the top we find the heraldry of the Maldonados, framed in curved and straight lined moulding. Toward the bottom of the lintel dolphins are represented, which is a Renaissance symbol of love, together to floral motifs. The four large Gothic style windows are also important and of exceptional beauty and variation. Each is different; this asymmetry is something characteristic of the Gothic period. Lastly it is necessary to make a reference to the elegant tower (which, in its day had a twin, and which, in later modifications, also lost a third of its own height) that stands so majestically above the rest of the city, safeguarding the message of power that the nobleman wanted to send to the rest of the citizens.
When passing into the interior, the visitor is fascinated by the originality and beauty of the patio, which again represents a symbiosis of medieval, Mudejar and Renaissance elements. On the bottom floor the mixed angle arches so characteristic of Salamanca stand out. The upper floor is completely Renaissance. The arches, partly mixed angle, stand on Italian white marble columns from Carrara which have decorated capitals. The railings of the balconies are decorated with honeycomb and white basketwork motifs, which are influences from Mudejar art. Finally, the roof has a railing made of fleur-de-lis flowers and gargoyles. On both the upper floor and the lower floor the heraldries of both families are repeated. In the centre there is a well that, in its day, guaranteed the supply of drinkable water.
Lastly it is necessary to mention the stairway and its three sections, which, following the Muslim tradition of preserving the privacy of the home from onlookers, is not in front of the vestibule. The first section opens up with the figure of a dog that is holding the coat of arms of the Porras, of whose lineage Rodrigo's mother belonged; the dog keeps and preserves the privacy of the home. The second section opens up with a lion that is holding the coat of arms of the Maldonados. The third section opens up with the union of the heraldries of the Pimentels and the Maldonados.
Other artistic elements
The grills have been characterised as one of the best example of Spanish Gothic forge work, and were done by Salamanca iron smiths. Their function is not only ornamental but also to protect the privacy and the security of the residents of the house.
The moulding on the ceiling of the second floor of the patio is made of hexagonal motifs surrounding a square. All the motifs are richly painted in white, blue and golden colours. The interior of the hexagons are decorated with floral motifs.
Curiosity legend
Perhaps one of the points that generates the most controversy is why shells were choosen as an ornamental element. Some historians see it as a show of pride of the Maldonados for belong to the order of Saint James. Other historians, certainly the more romantic ones, suggest that the repetition of the shells, a nobiliary symbol of the Pimentels, was an expression of the love that Rodrigo felt for his wife María.
The basements of the house later on became a place where the students of the University had to pay fines imposed by the Master of the school.
The coat of arms of the Maldonados crowned by a scepter appears above the lintel of the door. According to legend, the fleur-de-lis or lily flower was given to Aldana, an ancestor of the Maldonados, after conquering the Duke of Normandy in a dule. The King of France, to avoid the death of his son, gave (or "maldonó") lilies to the Aldanas, who, from that moment on, called themselves Maldonados.
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