far towards the east as the
crossing. Amid immense popular rejoicing, and with ecclesiastical pomp,
the Holy Sacrament was moved from the old Basilica to the new. "Pio III
papa, Philippe II rege, Francisco Manrico de Lara episcopo, ex vetere ad
hoc templum facta translatio xxv mart. anno a Christo nato MDLX." This
of course gave a new impetus to the work, and arch after arch, chapel on
chapel, rapidly grew through the next decades. The bigoted Philip
naturally looked on with favoring eye.[3] Twice the work languished, but
was resumed through the waning period of the Gothic style. The new
classicism was triumphantly replacing the dying art, and the builders of
Salamanca were sorely perplexed whether or not to make a radical
departure to the newer style. Most fortunately, the conclave called
together at this critical moment remained loyal to the original
conception, and the Renaissance only took possession in ornamentation
and the dome. Not until 1733 was the final "translation" celebrated.
Later, earthquakes and lightning shook down both dome and tower, so that
practically it was not till the nineteenth century that the last mortar
was dry. The building spanned a long and glorious epoch in the city's
history, from a time when her imperial master ruled the world until a
foreign upstart trampled her under foot.

The plan of the new Cathedral, like that of Seville, is an enormous
rectangle of ten bays, resembling a huge mosque, 378 feet long by 181
feet wide. It consists of nave and double side aisles without projecting
transept; square chapels fill the outer aisles as well as the bays of
the eastern termination. After much discussion it was decided that the
nave (130 feet high) should be about one third higher than the first
side aisles; the chapels are 54 feet in height.

The choir blocks the third and fourth bays of the nave, while the
Capilla Mayor occupies the eighth. Over the sixth soars the lantern. The
platform of the Patio Chico separates the sacristy and the old Cathedral
that practically abuts the entire southern front. At the southwestern
angle, the intersection of the two cathedrals is hidden by the gigantic
tower. The northern front is admirably free, the whole structure being
visible on its high granite platform. The western front is entered
through the great triple doorway, the central being that of the
Nacimiento; the northern, through the Puerta de las Ramos, the southern,
through the Puerta del Patio Ch