Augasantas
The name of this place has to do with a Galician martyr, Santa Mariña, who was beheaded in the 2nd century AD for refusing the wishes of a Roman named Olibrio. The young woman was beheaded and burnt, and tradition has it that where her head bounced off springs of miraculous water gushed forth.
It is worth visiting the church, which was declared a National Monument in 1931, as well as the beautiful architecture of the village, which was listed as a Historic Site in the 1960s.
The village of Santa Mariña is the image of the typical Galician inland village with its rural houses with galleries and outbuildings for animals, with narrow streets. The area is surrounded by a lush forest.
Recommendations:
Visit the area of the church of Santa Mariña.
Nearby QRs:
Websites of interest:
Further information:
The church is Romanesque in style from the 12th century and is unfinished. It has three naves and a false triforium. These naves are separated by pillars with attached columns. As a curiosity, it is worth mentioning that in the middle section of the right aisle is the chapel where tradition says that the remains of the saint are located.
In the upper part of each of the naves there is a rose window that gives light to the church.
The tower where the clock and the belfry are located dates from the 18th century. Next to the church is the Bishop’s Summer Manor House, today a parish house, and its current appearance dates from the 18th century. In Adro there was a closed cemetery in the 16th century.
The chevet of the church is formed by three apses that form a harmonious whole. As in the main façade, three rose windows decorate the chevet with the same double function as in the main façade: to decorate and to illuminate.
The pool where the saint was beheaded was rebuilt in the 19th century, as was the stone image of Santa Mariña.
Another of the fountains created by the beheading is inside the Chapel of Santo Tomé, also located next to the parish buildings.
The most striking feature is the crypt.
You can see a space on the floor filled with stone slabs that were possibly tombstones. There is also a square pool probably linked to some healing or religious rite.
There is also a curious museum containing 19th century books with various registers of visits and liturgical celebrations. Gothic carvings and some objects from the first centuries of our era. There are display cases in which the villagers have collaborated, such as a log from the martyr’s tree, which was kept by a woman from the parish.
Behind the church is the fountain and washing place.