Plaza del Cardenal Salazar (Cardenal Salazar Square), Cordoba

Cardenal Salazar Square takes its name from Cardinal Pedro de Salazar, a 17th-century bishop of Córdoba remembered for his devotion to education and architectural patronage.

In the early 1700s, after a devastating plague swept through the city, Salazar founded the Cardenal Salazar Hospital, the grand Baroque building that dominates one side of the square. Originally built to shelter the sick and the homeless, it later became a hospice for the terminally ill. Designed in 1703, the structure now houses the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Córdoba.

Sharing the square is the Church of Saint Pedro de Alcántara, another of Salazar’s projects, whose purpose stayed the same throughout centuries, still amassing worshippers during masses to this day.

Lined with orange trees and gleaming white façades, the square exudes Andalusian spirit. Around it, small restaurants and cafés spill their aromas into nearby alleyways — grilled fish and garlic are awaiting your visit.