Conjunto de la Ex-Colegiata de Santa María a Real

Ex-Colegiata de Santa María a Real complex
Dominating the site, in an enviable position, stands this spectacular monument which has its origins in the 4th century, in a hermitage erected in honour of Santa María. In the 10th century, a duplicate monastic house was founded by Count Froila and Ilduara, mother of San Rosendo. In 1150, the family ceded the patrimonial rights of the monastery and its assets to God, a fact documented in the archives of the Cathedral of Ourense, so that the prior of Santa María del Sar in Santiago de Compostela, founded a community of canons regular of St. Augustine. It was a place of pilgrimage due to the great devotion to the Virgin, pilgrims came from all over the world, and it was an obligatory point of visit, worship and rest. The monks sheltered body and soul and with the donations they received they built the Romanesque church and the hospital for pilgrims. The church dates from the middle of the 12th century and is one of the best examples of Romanesque architecture in the province. The most important figure in the church was the prior Alonso de Piña, a great renovator of the monastery: he built the cloister (16th century) and the prior's manor house. He endowed the church with a magnificent altarpiece, a choir and a spectacular organ, which is still preserved today and is dated (Fontes, Cruceros) 1757 and was the work of Manuel González. The whole complex is an exceptional example of architecture and sculpture, worthy of being declared an Asset of Cultural Interest. In the urban nucleus of the town council we find houses with typical Galician traditional galleries, charming streets that evoke past times, manor houses, the chapel of San Pedro, different fountains, crosses, horreos and a dovecote... It is without a doubt an obligatory stop to get lost in its corners full of charm and tradition. If we decide to make a stop on the way in Xunqueira we can enjoy fabulous crosses such as the one in the atrium of the Ex-collegiate church from the 16th century and another in the old toural, nowadays Plaza Primo de Rivera. In the Plaza del Obispo Carrascosa, an open space between the ex-collegiate church and the houses which can be accessed from Asdrúbal Ferreiro street and crossing an arcade with the coat of arms of Felipe II, we can see the well-known ‘Panera’ with the coat of arms of the prior Martín de Córdoba, used as a granary/municipal storehouse for cereals in the 17th century. In the neighbourhood of ‘A Fonde de Abaixo’ we can find a complex of fountain-well-tank, the neighbours say that the fountain, with three pipes, poured different water, one more salty and the other more twelve. Xunqueira with its geographical and fortunate location, near Allariz and Ourense and with thermal waters and a mild climate adopted the nickname of ‘Vila Sana’.