Bells

The highest room in the Cathedral. Where the bells ring!

The highest point of view in the city to contemplate the cathedral complex and the city of Salamanca.

Room located inside the screed, made in the 18th century, which is made up of the body of arches that house the bells, the ochavo, dome, lantern, dome, pinnacle, cross and weather vane.

From the beginning of the 18th century, the primitive medieval tower underwent successive transformations. On May 14, 1705, due to a lightning strike, a terrifying fire broke out in the Bell Tower, which reduced to ashes the entire spire of the upper finial, the wooden floors and melted the bell maces.

The fire of 1705 motivated an immediate popular response that provided economic means to the Cabildo for the repair of the tower. The works were commissioned by the master of the cathedral Pantaleón Pontón Setién, who completed the repair of the tower with the addition, starting from the high cornice, of the formidable baroque finish that we see today.

The set consists of a first quadrangular body with arches that house the bells; a second octagonal body; hemispherical dome on pendentives; lantern, dome, pinnacle, cross and weather vane.

The rise of the tower responds to multiple similar actions, whose most significant precedent is the Giralda, executed in the 16th century by Hernán Ruiz on the Almohad minaret of the old Seville mosque.

The splendid collection of cathedral bells is made up of a set of nine large pieces, located in the arches of the room, plus the formidable main bell located on the balcony of the ochavo.

The walls of the room are full of inscriptions that refer to invocations and pilgrimages, which have been preserved as a tribute to those who, in times past, left a sign of their presence on the canvases.

From the large holes that house the bells, the visitor has the opportunity to contemplate unusual views over the cathedral complex, the city of Salamanca and the valley that surrounds it.