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Of kings, bishops and monks
The middle ages
Indeed, the Romanesque is a style
that had a great diffusion all over the
territory, adapting to very different
environments. In the ría of Ferrol,
in Narón, stands out the church of
the monastery of San Martiño de
Xubia, also called Mosteiro do Couto,
one of the few Galician priories that
depended directly on the French
abbey of Cluny. In the southern limit
of the Eixo Atlántico, and very late in
its chronology we find the church of
Rio Meão, in Santa Maria da Feira.
Furthermore, in the lands of O Barco
de Valdeorras we can find the church
of the monastery of San Miguel de
Xagoaza, which belongs to the order
of Saint John of Jerusalem.
One of the most remarkable churches
for the singularity of both its technique
and its style is the Castro de Avelãs
in Bragança, the only example of
Romanesque with Mudejar influence in
Portugal. From the church of the former
monastery it is kept the triple brick head
–opposite to the other ones, usually
made of granite- with overlapped blind
arches with three heights in the lateral
apses and four in the central one.
Interesting churches and monasteries
can be found in the mountainous
lands of the centre of Galicia, the
regions of Deza and Tabeirós. Taking
Lalín as the starting point, some of its
parochial churches stand out, like Lalín
de Arriba, in the very city centre, or
Goiás, barely five kilometres far from
there. From there, the route continues
towards others in the surroundings, all
of them temples of former monasteries.
In Dozón, 15 kilometres to the south,
there is the church of the feminine
monastery of San Pedro de
Vilanova. In Sillega, 20 kilometres
to the north, there are two good
examples: San Pedro de Ansemil,
with three naves and its curious Gothic
chapel annexed and, above all, a gem
like San Lourenzo de Carboeiro,
an excellent example of the late
Romanesque, already very influenced
by the Gothic and with great similitudes
1. San Miguel de Eiré (Ferreira de Pantón, Lugo) / 2. Church of Castro de Avelãs (Bragança)
3. San Miguel de Xagoaza (O BarcodeValdeorras)
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