Convento de San Esteban, Salamanca

This Dominican monastery in Salamanca is famed for its towering Plateresque facade, carved like a giant altarpiece with scenes of the stoning of Saint Stephen framed by columns and foliage. Built in the sixteenth century, it was here that Christopher Columbus is said to have argued his case for a westward voyage before the friars. Inside, a soaring church holds a monumental gilded baroque altarpiece by Churriguera, and a serene two-tiered cloister reveals the wealth and learning of the order at the golden age's height.