I thought that La Casa De Las Conchas (House Of The Shells), a 15-th century gothic building in the centre of Salamanca, would make a nice entry for travelwithintent’s Look Up Look Down weekly photo challenge.
Looking up at the shells… the building’s facade is decorated with 350 of these.
Looking up from Shell House’s interior patio, you can see the ornate towers of Salamanca Cathedral
Looking down one of the beautifully carved banisters
Lady Of The Cakes 
Great composition on the banister. I like the shells too. Do you know why they decide to use them? Was it a symbol of pilgrimage?
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You’re probably right about the pilgrimage symbol… they’re everywhere along El Camino De Santiago.
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That is quite some building. I’m glad you chose to include this in the challenge. I particularly love the up shot of the shell detail.
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Clinging on like little barnacles for 600 years;-)
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I could do with some of that glue!
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That’s pretty cool! 🙂
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This is one of those ‘I could have done that’ moments 😉
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I had never heard of the “look up look down” challenge. What an interesting idea – and I love where you took it. Thanks for sharing!
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Oh do join in 🙂
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It would! I love the first shot 🙂
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They’re lovely! Not seen that before 🙂
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how unique – and what a great entry for the challenge – your up and down views give us a such a nice feel for this work of art structure – and I find it interesting that the second photo shows windows that are so diverse – instead of being exactly alike. hmmm
🙂
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Thank you! I’ve got another shot of the most intriguing window, but, unfortunately, in an effort to get in the street sign, I cut the top off, ahrgh!
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Beautiful structure!!! Ah, they really knew how to get all out on architecture.
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And I’ve still got so much left to see… like Granada!
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I love the bannister design also. Interesting without being too fussy. Do you know if it was carved from marble, or perhaps just made to look like marble?
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I’m not entirely sure… it was either limestone or marble. But then again, heated limestone = marble 😉
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Yes! Would you believe I just learned that? I’m reading a novel about a woman botanist who studies moss. She explains how ancient decayed mosses are what created the “veins” in the marble. I never knew that.
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Oh, I didn’t know that either 😉 It’s my factoid of the day!
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At first glance I thought the first picture was of the floor!
It looks gorgeous. One more reason to visit Salamanca.
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Seriously, this is Salamanca? I am certain that I saw this exact element of an exterior in Segovia…
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I’d not be surprised…the clam shell motive has enormous religious significance, apparently.
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The different perspectives on the clam shells was really interesting – I couldn’t figure out the first photo until I saw the second one 🙂
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That was my evil ploy, mwahhaha!
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