Logbook · 14 places

Shrine of Santa María a Real do Cebreiro

Pedrafita do Cebreiro, Ancares, Lugo

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 3 Nature · 2 Activities · 4 Curiosities · 1 Food and drink

Spain › Galicia › Lugo › Ancares › Pedrafita do Cebreiro › Shrine of Santa María a Real do Cebreiro

Shrine of Santa María a Real do Cebreiro

Monument · Pedrafita do Cebreiro, Ancares, Lugo

The sanctuary of Santa María a Real do Cebreiro, in the parish of Cebreiro, was founded by the Count of Aurillac as part of a monastery and is one of the oldest monuments on the French route of the Way of Saint James, which tradition links to the legend of the Holy Grail, reflected in Galicia's coat of arms. It is a 9th-century pre-Romanesque church with a rectangular nave and a tiled gabled roof, formed of three naves ending in a triple apse; the façade, not original, was rebuilt later. It preserves an 18th-century baptismal font, a 12th-century chalice and some silver-plated rock-crystal ampoules donated by Isabella the Catholic during her visit in 1486. Tradition has it that the monks rang the bell to guide pilgrims on foggy days.

Photo: Carlos de Paz (CC BY-SA 2.0)

What to see and do in Pedrafita do Cebreiro