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Monastery of Santa María de Armenteira

Meis, Salnés, Pontevedra

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 3 Activities · 2 Curiosities

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Monastery of Santa María de Armenteira

Monument · Meis, Salnés, Pontevedra

A Cistercian monastery in transitional Romanesque, or proto-Gothic, style, in the parish of Santa María de Armenteira, in Meis. Documented since 1149, when Diego Ovéquiz donated the place of Gondes to abbot Ero, it joined the Cistercian order in 1162; legend attributes its founding to Santo Ero. It received noble and royal donations during the Middle Ages, among them one from 1175 by King Ferdinand II of Galicia, and in the 15th century the papacy intervened on its behalf against pressure from the nobility. Its façade bears an inscription from March 1212, and the transept is covered by a crossed-rib dome unique in Galicia. Disentailed in 1836, it remained abandoned until the late 20th century, when it took in Cistercian nuns. It has been a monumento histórico-artístico (Spanish heritage-protection category that preceded the Bien de Interés Cultural) since 1931.

Photo: FreeCat / José Antonio Gil Martínez from Vigo, Galicia (CC BY 2.0)

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