Galicia, the Switzerland of Spain

by Annette M. B. Meakin

APSE OF THE CHURCH OF EL MOSTEIRO, ORENSE

is that of a Latin cross; the roofing of the nave is of wood, while the transept and apses are covered with Gothic vaulting. The four arches of the transept form curvilineal triangles, as if originally intended to support a cupola or lantern. The apses, which resemble those of Santo Domingo of Pontevedra, are connected by doors of communication in their walls; they are lighted by very narrow and long lancet windows. Some say that the sculptured figures on the capitals in this church are intended to represent the struggles that took place between Bishop Yanez de Noboa and the monks, but this is not correct; they merely represent the monsters, birds, and foliage so much affected in that period. The church contains some interesting tombs.

Another old church at Orense is La Trinidad, founded in the middle of the twelfth century by Juan de Lares; it has two circular towers flanking its façade, they probably did duty during the Middle Ages as fortified watch-towers, for they have the appearance of bastions. The wall of the Gothic apse seems also to have been castellated. This church must have been standing when our Duke of Lancaster—who had married a daughter of Peter the Cruel—invaded Galicia to claim the lands that his wife inherited from her father. The Duke took Ribadavia in 1386, and then marched upon Orense, which he assaulted and sacked.

In several of the small towns within a short drive of Orense there are interesting monuments of mediæval architecture. One drive well worth taking is to Allariz, where the Church of Santiago has many points worthy of study, such as its quaint circular apse with a tiled roof and Romanesque windows, and its square stone tower, also with a tiled roof. At Allariz there is also the convent of Santa Clara, with its sumptuous church and five altars, one of which is of the Corinthian order and as lofty as the church. On the arch above the closed door there is an inscription with the date “Era 1324.” The nuns of this convent have among their treasures a beautiful crystal cross of mediæval workmanship, with an ivory image of the Virgin, which alone is worth going to Allariz to see. Near the Church of St. Stephen, at Allariz, there is a spot called el campo de la Mina, which was used as a Jewish burial-ground until the sixteenth century; some old tombstones bearing Hebrew inscriptions have recently been found there. Huerta thought that Allariz was the ancient town of Arraduca mentioned by Ptolemy. The historian Gandara stated that the remains of King Witiza were discovered at Allariz in 1663, but no other writer has confirmed this statement. It is certain, however, that Allariz was one of the most strongly-fortified towns in Galicia during the Middle Ages, and it is one of the oldest Fueros in the province. It can also boast of the fact that the great poligraphist Feijoó received his early education within its walls.

Another pleasant drive is to Aquasantas, where there is an interesting parish church, built of granite, with three naves, the central nave being supported by pillars 30 feet high. In the side nave to the right is the tomb of Santa Marina the martyr: there is a high square tower with a clock. This church once belonged to the Knights Templars.

Not far from Aquasantas there is the Church of San Pedro del Mezquita, and thirty kilometres distant from Orense there is the parish church of Junquera de Ambia, now a small village, but once an important Roman settlement close to the military road that connected Braga with Astorga. A milestone bearing the name of Hadrian was excavated there towards the close of the nineteenth century, it belonged to the year 133 A.D., and its inscription stated that the distance to Braga was seventy-four miles.[277] The present church dates from the year 1164, as we are told by an inscription on the tympanum of its doorway. Molina states that the ancient family of Ambia owned the whole of Junquera de Ambia, and much more land besides, and that one of them, having no heir to succeed him, built a fine church on his own estate: in the sixteenth century this edifice was turned into a Colegiata, but it is now a parish church in the diocese of Orense; it has a fine tower in the Romanesque style. The chief entrance is a good example of the same style at its best period; it has three archivolts with toral moulding.

At El Monteiro there is also a church with an interesting apse, or rather three circular apses with Romanesque windows.

There is also a remarkably fine church at Monterrey about fifty-five kilometers from Orense. This town was peopled by Alfonso VIII. of Castile in 1150, and called Monterrey because of its mountainous position. In its vicinity there are some rich tin mines. It is at Monterrey that there is a fine old square tower, the Torre del Homenaje (the bell at the top is modern), and in the church above alluded to there is a mediæval reredos of sculptured stone.[278]