We set off to explore Chantada and Romanesque Churches. Chantada is a busy town, in the heart of Galicia, about thirty minutes away from Monforte de Lemos. It trades in grain, flax, hemp and dairy produce. We visited before, in 2019 during our first trip to Galicia.
Chantada
The town is on the left bank of the River Asma and it seems it is yet another of those towns where the site has been settled since prehistoric times. It was close to a major Roman road linking Portugal and Spain and there are many Roman remains in the area. I found this fascinating site, north of Chantada, Castro Candaz.1
The old town is small, and felt very isolated from the bustling new town where we sat down to coffee in a busy cafe.
Then we went for a walk along the river. I have been struck by how Spanish towns create walks and parks along their rivers, and of course by the complete absence of litter. The Thames dominates the south east of London, but despite new riverside developments there are no riverside parks – curious!
And then we set off to find Romanesque churches.
The Monastery of San Salvador de Asma
The monastery was founded by two nobles in the 9th and 10th centuries, when Chantada was known as ‘Asma’. It belonged to the Benedictine order until the dissolution of monasteries by Mendizabal in the 1830s. Today the monastery buildings are privately owned, but the church can be visited – it was firmly closed when we were there.
As always with Romanesque churches the figures carved under the roof and around the windows are fantastical.
Dogs? Grotesques? Peacocks?
Santa Maria de Camporramiro
This church, which was quite hard to find, is 12th century and sadly also locked shut.
It was a long but interesting day, but rather frustrating because the tourist map was no help in locating the churches, and, stupidly, we had not brought a large-scale map with us. Interestingly, we found no other tourists.
I would love to hear from you!