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Facade of the main building of the UniversityThe University was founded in the early 13th century in Salamanca with eventually four major and 18 minor colleges. The facade, "a Plateresque masterpiece built from Villamayor stone" consists of three sections: "in the centre of the first is a medallion of the Catholic Monarchs; the second contains the coats of arms of the house of Austria, surrounded by busts, medals and an entablature featuring children in amusing postures; and in the centre of the third, a scene of a pope discoursing with cardinals, flanked by the figures of Venus and Hercules" (All Salamanca 54). |