James A. Michener by Iberia

Author:Iberia
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Non-fiction, Travel, History
ISBN: 9780307834164
Publisher: Fawcett
Published: 1968-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

VIII

SALAMANCA

Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor is the finest in Spain and one of the four best in the world. St. Mark’s in Venice has a richer variety of architecture; the Zócalo in Mexico City is larger in expanse; and the barbaric Asian splendor of the Registan in Samarkand is without equal. But the Plaza Mayor is unique in that its spacious area is bordered on all four sides by what amounts to one continuous building, four stories high and graced with an unending arcade of great architectural beauty. It is the most harmonious plaza extant, with its repetitious balconies and windows providing just enough accent and its blending colors creating a vision of amber loveliness. On a sunny afternoon, with the sidewalk cafés filled and the parade of charming girls in progress, it has a human warmth that the other great plazas lack, and it is worth a considerable trip to see.

To sit lazily in the plaza and study the minor variations in the vast building which curls about you is delightful. On the north side and the west the balconies are continuous, but on the south and east they are broken in interesting patterns. Both the north and south façades are interrupted by two large gateways, but the east and west have only one. The plaza isn’t quite a perfect square. One afternoon when I had nothing better to do I stepped it off in all directions, but I forget the results. And on the north face the continuous building elevates iteself slightly to become a palace serving as the town hall.

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