Colegio Mayor de Santiago el Zebedeo

The Colegio Mayor de Santiago el Zebedeo — also called Colegio de Fonseca or Colegio del Arzobispo — is a 1519 Renaissance edifice in central Salamanca, forming part of the UNESCO World Heritage ensemble of the historic university city. It was founded by Alonso de Fonseca, Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, to house Galician students studying at the University of Salamanca, a distinctly regional mission that set it apart from other Colegios Mayores of its era. Its most striking later chapter came with its use as the Irish College: Catholic clergy fleeing post-Reformation Ireland found refuge and training here for generations, earning it the popular name Colegio de los Irlandeses. The building's Plateresque arcaded courtyard is its architectural centrepiece — a textbook example of the ornate transitional style blending Gothic structure with Renaissance decorative vocabulary. As part of Salamanca's university complex, it is occasionally open to visitors.