\b0 Of Iberian origin, Salamanca was conquered by Hannibal in the third century BC and was already a
rich and flourishing city in the Roman era.\par
Later on, it was taken and destroyed by the Moors several times, before being recaptured permanently by Alfonso VI in 1085.\par
Salamanca's fame rests largely on its university, founded, like that of Par
is, in 1215. Such great Spanish humanists as Brother Luis de Le≤n and Miguel de Unamuno taught there.\par
Already considered one of the most illustrious cities in Europe by the middle of the thirteenth century, it reached new heights of splendor under t
he Catholic rulers of Spain.\par
Particularly evident in the city's architecture is the passage, unique in Spain, from the Middle Ages to the \b \cf4 \ATXht178 Renaissance\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 , which coincided with the gradual and harmonious evolution of Fl
amboyant \b \cf4 \ATXht175 Gothic\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 into the Plateresque style. In fact, almost all of the city's most important buildings are \b \cf4 \ATXht178 Plateresque\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 .\par
