A cultural route of the first order is the Way of the Spanish Language. It is an itinerary that starts at the monasteries of San Millán de la Cogolla, in La Rioja, and crosses five other places that have a special relation with the history of the Castilian language from its origins: the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos, in the Burgos province, and the cities of Valladolid, Salamanca, Ávila and Alcala de Henares. All these places have a rich history and are ideal sites to verify “in situ” the evolution of the Spanish language and the history that preceded it, and to get overwhelmed by the monuments and centennial traditions.

The trip through the heart of Spain begins in San Millán de la Cogolla, in La Rioja, and must include a visit to the monasteries of Suso and Yuso, the places where the first words in the Castilian language were written, over a millennium ago. From there, the route runs to Santo Domingo de Silos, in the Castilian province of Burgos, the place where the “glosas silentes” were made, some of the first samples of Castilian writing. The route continues through two cities with famous universities that have been of great importance in the development of Castilian as a universal language: Valladolid and Salamanca.

Valladolid was, for many years, capital of Spain, the reason why it was very important in the evolution of the Spanish language. And in Salamanca, the first grammar of a modern European language was edited, in 1492. Antonio de Nebrija established the first rules for the use of this language in his “Grammar of the Castilian language.” With this fundamental work, Castilian put itself on the same foot as the classical languages, the only ones up until then with written grammar rules. In addition, the University of Salamanca was the pillar on which many (Latin) American universities in the colonial period were built, the reason why its importance is enormous throughout the entire Hispanic world.

Avila is another obligatory stop on this cultural itinerary of the Spanish language. Santa Teresa de Jesus and San Juan de la Cruz started a current of mystical literature from which unfolded a greater dominance of the language, and a great expressiveness which showed that Castilian already was a mature language. Finally, the city that ends this cultural route is Alcalá de Henares, the place where Miguel de Cervantes, the most universal writer in the Castilian language and writer of “El Quijote,” was born, and the place where the Instituto Cervantes, the best example for the diffusion and maintenance of Castilian in the entire world, is located.