The Monumental Iglesia de Vera Cruz, O Carballiño: Galicia’s “New Church”
This is a continuing series of photographs from our Galicia Road Trip (with a few stops in Asturias) this past August.
After a lovely time in Monforte de Lemos, we decided to alter our plans considerably as a historic wave of wildfires scorched the nearby province of Ourense. Orange skies, the smell of smoke, and a daily dusting of ashes on cars and outdoor restaurant tables made the air uncomfortable to breathe. Not to mention the heat, which neared 100 degrees. With the final three days of our trip ahead of us, we decided those weren’t the conditions we wanted to end our trip under.
Our original plan was to spend the final three days relaxing in what looked like the perfect Galician hideaway, the Granxa D Outeiro, a boutique rural hotel in nearby Ribadavia. However, the wildfires forced authorities to suspend rail services (including our train from Ourense to the Madrid Airport where we’d fly back home from) and cut access to roads in the area, as well as blocking a 30 mile stretch of the popular Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail. So we called the hotel to see if we could cancel our reservation (or receive a credit for a future stay).
The hotel refused (“Reservations are non-refundable – sorry!”). I thought they’d be more accommodating under these extraordinary conditions but I was wrong. $700 down the drain. Business is business – I get it. But that left a really bad taste in my mouth. No worries, we weren’t gonna let our trip get ruined by an unsympathetic hotel that’ll never get my business again – and we plan to return to Galicia several more times in the coming years. Their loss.
Skies over Monforte de Lemos, 3:45pm, no filter
So with little time, we drew up a new plan. That plan? Brave the wildfires which were still burning through the region and head back west (to the coast) where the air quality was unspoilt by the wildfires. We settled on the province of Pontevedra in the southwestern part of Galicia, bordering the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal. But first, we needed a new hotel reservation, and with over 90% of the hotels in the region already booked, it was pretty slim pickings. But find one we did – the 1-star (but very well-reviewed) Hotel Liñares in Poio, a small town located in the north shore of the Ría de Pontevedra (more on this in a future post!)
So we packed up our dusty BMW X5 and started our drive to the province of Pontevedra. But looking over the route, I uncovered a unique stopping point along the way that seemed to be well worth a stop – the Iglesia de Vera Cruz in O Carballiño, a small town in the province of Ourense that’s known as the octopus capital, hosting the world-renowned Octopus Festival (Festa do Pulpo) every August. Between 55,000 and 65,000 pounds of octopus are prepared during the festivities(!) But I digress…
Iglesia de Vera Cruz
The project for the Iglesia de Vera Cruz (Temple of the True Cross) was commissioned in 1942 by Evaristo Vaamonde, the parish priest of the town, and a committee of residents who considered the existing parish church inadequate and wanted to build a new one. To do so, Vaamonde took advantage of a trip to Ourense from Madrid by one of Spain’s most notable architects, Antonio Palacios.
Antonio Palacios was born in the town of O Porriño on January 8, 1874. He was a prolific architect distinguished by the monumental eclecticism he left as imprint in many of his projects. Palacios helped define the architectural identity of Madrid in the first half of the 20th century with some of the most emblematic buildings of the Spanish capital, including the Palacio de Cibeles, Círculo de Bellas Artes and Hospital de Maudes.
Palacios offered his assistance in the temple’s design free of charge, which was financed with the help of local residents. The temple was intended to be the cornerstone of an urban development project aimed at transforming the town of O Carballiño into a pilgrimage center. It would be Palacios’ last major architectural project, however. He died two years after construction began.
The foundation stone was laid on June 26, 1943, and construction began in July of the same year under the supervision of Adolfo Otero Landeiro, a master stonemason from O Carballiño. Following Palacios’ death two years after presenting the project, Otero Landeiro, with the help of engineers Marcelino Enriquez and Roberto de Agustina, oversaw the construction, completing the roundabout in 1946. Around 1948, the final settlement for the work was signed by the architect Manuel Conde Fidalgo from Ourense.
Built entirely with local materials, especially granite and slate (typical stones of the region), the Temple of Veracruz houses a purported fragment of the True Cross, which arrived in O Carballiño from the Holy Land in 1901 as a gift from the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Ludovico Piave.
With the tower only half-finished, the temple was officially opened for worship on September 17, 1952, the feast day of Saint Cyprian, patron saint of the town. When the church’s most important elements were completed (miraculously, considering the countless financial difficulties that had to be overcome) in July 1957, of the three original architects, only Father Evaristo, the driving force behind the project, was still alive.
While not belonging to any specific architectural style, the church is often described as a synthesis of the influences of all the theological architectures that historically populated Galicia and the towns along the Camino de Santiago with churches and monasteries. It is the largest building in the entire town of O Carballiño, with its monumental tower reaching a height of approximately 52 meters, resembling a medieval fortress.
Afterwards, we braved the heat, haze, and smoky air and walked around for a bit…
New York Knicks fans – they’re everywhere!
