Geography of Salamanca
Salamanca,Spain, the capital of Salamanca province. The city is on the Tormes River about 105 miles (170 km) northwest of Madrid. There is some manufacturing of textiles here. Among many tourist attractions are an ancient Roman bridge, 12th-century Romanesque and 16th-century Gothic cathedrals, and many Renaissance buildings.
Salamanca, an important city of the ancient Celtiberians, was captured for Carthage by Hannibal in the third century B.C. It then fell in turn to the Romans, Goths, and Moors. Salamanca was incorporated into the Christian kingdom of León about 1055. The University of Salamanca, founded in the 13th century, rivaled the universities at Bologna, Paris, Oxford, and Cambridge as a center of learning. The university still functions and some 16th-century buildings are still in use.
Population: 162,544.