Pontecesures. San Xulián de Requeixo church. Portuguese way

About this heritage

San Xulián de Requeixo church is of Romanesque origin. It is a church of difficult interpretation since it suffered multiple reforms, but it conserves its original Romanesque style. Its construction was completed towards the end of 1116 when Don Diego Gelmirez was bishop. Diego Gelmirez, was the first archbishop of Santiago de Compostela and is surely the most decisive man of the international pilgrimage to Santiago promoting.

In this religious temple, an ara (a stone consecrated or dedicated to Jupiter) was found, another one to Lares (a Roman god) and two others that are illegible, as it is stated in the archaeological chart of the Pontevedra´s museum.

There are 3 openings on the façade, of which only the central one is original. It is worth mentioning the 12 foundation slabs, among which we can see 2 monster heads, one appears with its mouth open and a large tongue, and the other, in a human form, covering its parts with both hands.

Pontecesures is located on the Portuguese Way of St. James, a route that became important after the independence of Portugal in the 12th century. The pilgrims´ flow from Portugal to the north of the peninsula established all kinds of connections. This route enjoyed great devotion as demonstrated by the pilgrimage of Dona Isabel of Portugal, the “Holy Queen", who offered her crown or that of King Manuel I of Portugal to the altar of Santiago.

The Portuguese Way inherits old roads and paths, such as the Roman Way XIX that linked the Portuguese town of Braga with Astorga.

To learn more

San Xulián church has only one nave, no apse and a wooden gabled roof. On the outside, the temple preserves parts of the Romanesque work, as is the case with its southern wall.

On the main façade you can see a semi-circular arch and a small oculus that provides light to the interior. The church has a large quadrangular side tower with four buttresses joined by semi-circular arches where the bells, a cornice and the dome are housed. Surrounding this temple is the cemetery, a constant in the rural Galician churches.

The Portuguese route has a variant of this road that runs along the coast, crossing towns on the Miño river through A Guarda. This route goes to Santiago de Compostela always close to the sea, which gives it a special beauty, joining the Portuguese Way in Redondela.

Pontecesures is also reached by the “Arousa sea and Ulla river Jacobean route”, which commemorates the arrival of the body of Santiago Apostle on our shores. This fluvial route crosses 22 municipalities belonging to the provinces of Pontevedra and A Coruña that in addition, are the members of the Patronage Foundation of the Arousa sea and Ulla river Jacobean route.

Pontecesures is located in the region of Caldas, is has been an independent town council for only 70 years. It has only one parish, San Xulián, and 13 population entities. In this municipality we can visit the viewpoints of Piñeiro Manso and Galiñeiro, as well as other monuments and sculptures, cruceiros (traditional catholic stone cross) and churches.

To know it better

Pontecesures is a municipality located in Pontevedra´s province, more specifically in the region of Caldas. Until 1926 it was a parish of the neighbouring municipality of Valga.

In this municipality you can find unique constructions such as O Alfolí, a baroque building from the 18th century used to store salt, tobacco and sulphur. In 1990, the building suffered a fire and today only the facade and the Bourbon coat of arms remain. Another site of interest is the Romanesque church of San Xulián de Requeixo. This temple has one nave, no apse and a wooden roof.

The bridge over the river Ulla, which links the provinces of Pontevedra and A Coruña, also stands out. It dates from the first century and was designed by Master Mateo. This area is very much visited and is also part of the Portuguese Way.

After Santiago de Compostela, Padrón is the second place with more Jacobean tradition. Between the rivers Ulla and Sar, you can admire the place where the boat was moored, coming from the port of Jaffa, and which moved the Apostle Santiago´s body around the year 44.