The lively town of Pontevedra, finely situated on the Ría de Pontevedra in the delta of the Río Lérez, the Río Alba and the Río Tomeza, is the chief town of its province, and in the Middle Ages was a considerable port under the name of Pontis Veteris ("Old Bridge"). From that period date some remains of town walls. Legend has it that Teukros, brother of the Greek hero Ajax, landed here on his return from the Trojan War.
South of the Museum is the 14th century church of San Francisco, with a 13th century doorway. Originally belonging to the Mendicant Friars, it contains a number of Gothic tombs, including that of Don Payo Gómez Chariño, who took part in the capture of Seville in 1248.
South of San Francisco in Pontevedra is the chapel of La Peregrina (by Fernando Souto, 1776), one of the finest examples of Galician Baroque, on an unusual circular ground-plan, with a convex facade and slender towers. It contains a much revered image of the Virgen de la Peregrina, patroness of the town.
Mision Botanico de Lourizan has been a forestry research station since 1943. There are tall tree ferns and camellias (some 25m high) survives from the original planting. Along the outlying drives, a large range of Australasian trees and North American and European conifers have grown along the forestry trials.
The streets in the old part of the town to the west of the Museum, extending northward to the river, have an aspect very typical of Galicia, their tall houses fronted by glazed balconies.
In Pazo de Rubianes most of the great trees are about 100 years old and include a fine Norfolk Island pine, a camphor tree and a large group of Eucalyptus globulus. It is an English-style park and camellia walks.
To the north of the Plaza de España, on the west side of the old town center, stands the Gothic church of Santa María la Mayor (16th C.), which has a magnificent west front by Cornelis de Holanda in the form of a retablo. On the side doorway on the right is a fine figure of Christ, the Cristo del Buen Viaje. Like Santo Domingo, the church contains a number of Gothic tombs.
From the Peregrina chape,l Calle Michelena runs northwest into the Plaza de España, on the south side of which are the ruins of the church of Santo Domingo, with five tall 14th century apses containing a number of Gothic tombs. These and other Roman and medieval carved stones now form part of a Lapidarium, an annex of the Provincial Museum.
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Pontevedra
