ROUTE 10

From Santiso to Mens.

Santiso, Pontella, Casas do Monte, Vigo, Río de Vaa, Espírito Santo, O Oratorio, As Torres, Mens.

Length of route: 9 Kms ( one way )
Time needed: 2 Hrs 45 Mins ( Return )
Recommended: On foot, by bycicle, by car. Any time of year

Santiso mausoleum/ A. Blanco

The square in Santiso de Vilanova has been chosen as an ideal starting point for this route as it´s a place of arcthitectural and ethnographical interest. Vilanova, according to Fernando Cabeza, is the name of a hamlet which emerged, in the Middle Ages, as a result of the settling of new groups of people who began to cultivate up to then unocuppied lands

The parish church was restored, according to Leonor Alonso and Lois Giadás, in the 18th century by the Romay Mancebo Family. The pentagonal façade is crowned by a split belfry; above the door is the image of San Tirso. Inside, the main altar piece, which is also barroque, safekeeps the statue of Santiso de Bitnia, among other figures.

In the church grounds, we find the neoclasical mausuleum which belongs to the owners of the Pazo de Vilanova (a 'pazo' is a Galician country mansion). The mausuleum was built in 1875 following the design of Napoleon´s tomb, as Alonso and Giadas confirm. We are only just able to read an inscription which speaks of the member of the Romay family who is buried here.

The last building , which completes the group in this location, is the rectory. Nowdays it´s inhabited by a group of Hermanas de la Caridad (a religious order of nuns). In front of the barroque stone cross ('cruceiro') which stands in the middle of the square, is the Pazo das Mancebas, enclosed within a high stone wall. The nobility status of the house was obtained by Don Payo Posse de Morelle, scribe of the Real Audiencia de Galicia, although there is no coat of arms.

After going past many examples of rural houses which reflect their medieval origins, we reach Pontella, where we come across the first 'Peto de ánimas' (bin for the souls) which, in past times, was placed in the middle of the crossroads. This is a prelude to the stone crosses that appear at the crossroads we must pass on our journey, all of them pagan places which had to be cristianized. As we walk, we observe the meadows of Casas do Monte which are decorated with bee-hives.

Among the pine forest on the right we find the small village of Vigo, a place-name which refers to its meaning of hamlet or small inhabited place, accordaing to Cabeza. Among the rural houses stands the Pazo de Veiga (Martínez, 1986:668) founded in the 17th century by captain Fernando Bello and his wife Francisca Romero Caamanhño; its coat of arms sttores the arms of the various families: the Moscoso (a wolf´s head), Montenegro (A crowned 'M'), Caamanho (lances) and Figueroa (fig leaves) families.

In the hamlet of Rio de Vaa we come across an ethnographic set made up of four mills and a farmworker´s house. One of the mills, now in private hands, is still in use. The Vaa River is one of the few rivers in Bergantinhos that flows directlty into the sea. It has its origin at the foot of the Brión Fortress. It flows through several different areas and flows out into the estuary of Esteiro (Ceiruga, Barizo). Throughout its journey it moves dozens of mills. The language heard in the hamlet maintains alive many related terms like 'canle' (canal) 'aliviadoiro' (overflow channel), 'gradilla' (slipway), 'canela' (bobbin ), 'rodicio' (water wheel), 'mesa' (work bench), 'aguillón' ( drainpide ), 'quenlla' (a piece belonging to a water mill). The use of those mills was a privilige conceeded to religious orders, the nobility and town councils. Inhabitants from as far as the village of Corme (Ponteceso) would come to these mills to grind the grains. The founder of this hamlet, as well as a water sawmill, was Lorenzo García Soto, an inhabitant of Coristanco. It was thanks to the intelligent use of water that this village was the first place in the area to have electricity at the turn of the century.

Near the Vaa river / H. Pose

We can hear the song of the blue tit (parus maior) resting on the willows (salix sp). The salamander (chioglossa lusitanica) lives in the damp zones. The emperor dragonfly (anax emperador) almost certainly flies over the water. The elegantly-shaped alders, along with the old fig trees, are the predominating tree species which grow along the river bank.

On the way to Mens we come across the Espirit Santo chapel where a statue of San Calixto is kept.

THE ESPIRIT SANTO CHAPEL

The chapel was built towards the end of the 18th century and restored in 1994. It´s made up of a single nave and a rectangular apse. The inside reflects absolute simplicity. The walls are made of masonry and have few recesses. The pentagonal façade is south facing. Adjoining the western wall, there is a roof which is held up by two granite columns, its purpose is to protect the parishoners.

San Calixto
Alonso and Giadas tell us lovely story about the transfer of the remains of San Calixto from Rome to this chapel, at the end of the 19th century, so as to enable the local parishoners to worship their saint, "as the body of a saint arouses more devotion than a wooden statue and its presence elevates the status of the church where it´s kept". According to the current priest, the costs which were initially estimated by the Cofradía del Espíritu Santo and the priest Antonio Varela de Leis, rose due to the ups and downs of a journey by land and sea. There´s a pilgrimage every year in May.

Coat of arms and inscription
On the upper part of the eastern wall we can see two ashlars, one with a coat of arms and the other with the following inscription " This work was carried out while Don Antonio Piñeiro was rector ( of the Holy Inquisition ) in the year 1684".

The crucero
In the hermitage grounds we find a stone cross with two steps, an octagonal column, a square capital and a plain cross.

On our way to Mens, we once again come across another " caja de ánimas ", in the Oratorio. We have arrived at the back part, but the front is made up of two niches. We can see a bunch of flowers, always fresh, inside. Behind them hides an image of the Virgin. The roof is made of stone and where it ends there´s a cross with a crucified Christ with his lowered head towards the right.

A stone cross bearing a marble plaque reminds us of the name of a drowned man. After having crossed the river Vaa, which is called Río Changa in this area, we can see the Torres de Mens.

THE TOWERS AT MENS

Mens towers / X.M. Varela.

The Torres de Mens, along with Altamira (Brión), Cira (Ulla), and Vimianzo are important examples of mediaeval civil architecture. This is the only tower in Bergantiños still standing. According to Martínez Barbeito, Lopez Sánchez de Moscoso ordered its contruction in 1471, so as to establish a defence post against the eclesiastical power.

The Archbishop of Santiago was imprisoned there, according to the statement of Gonzalo de Ardelero in 'Pleito Tabera Fonseca' : 'Bernal Dianes de Moscoso had entered the aforementioned village with him and one night Tapal de Noia, and he had captured him and taken him as a prisoner to Altamira Fortress. From there he was sent to the fortress at Vimianzo by Bernal Dianes, and from there once again the was sent to the fortress at Mens, and from there he was sent to the fortress at Ferreira, and the aforementioned witness heard this from his father who was one of the ones who watched over him in Mens and at Ferreira, and that the witness belives that the aforemontoned imprisonment of the above-mentioned master patriarch lasted two years and more...'

The loss of riches and therefore power of the Altamira family resulted in the acquisition of the towers by Pedro María Abelenda in 1872. After having begun the re-building in 1998, under the experienced guidance of Manuel Gallego (the present owner and relative of the buyer), it was given the 'Premio Europa Nostra' award in 1993, which is awarded to the best examples of civil architecture. Although visitors cannot enter the actual building, access is allowed, through the grounds, to the gate house.

Layout
The Mens Towers are set in semicircular grounds , they´re made with stone wall, three ashlar towers and an elongated house. The whole area is surrounded by a moat which is only broken up at the point where the gate stands (there are some writers who speak of the existence of a drawbridge at one time). According to Alonso and Giadás, the towers stand on the site of a primitive 'castro' (prehistoric fortress) once used as a Roman military camp ('castra').

The Keep
It stands facing south, with its balcony, in a stately manner. Built joined to the main building, it´s internally communicated with it. It´s the only three-floor tower, as the other two only have two floors.

Gate House
It opens to the outside world, on the ground floor, through an ogive door. Four circles with crosses are engraved on the jambs. Until recently, the second floor was used as a dovecote.

The house
The house, built in the style of a small 'pazo', is made up of two parts. The first, elongated and with a saddle roof has two floors, along the façade there´s a sun lounge and a staircase made up of two flights of stairs. The second part, adjoining the first, has three floors but lacks the detail of the first.

The cursed wheat field
A legend speaks of the existence of a secret passage joining the castle and the Romanesque church, although its never been proved to be true. The legend tells how the Count kidnapped a beautiful young village girl and held her prisoner in the castle. The villagers stormed the castle forcing the Count to try to escape through the tunnel. So as to impede this, they set fire to both of the tunnel exits. From then on, the wheat and corn which grows on the land above this underground passage turns yellow sooner than the rest of the crop, due to this ancient curse.

ROMANESQUE CHURCH OF SANTIAGO DE MENS

Santiago de Mens / A.F.M.

The church of Santiago de Mens are part of the remains of a Benedictine monastery which can be traced back to at least the 10th century, among the donations of the Counts of Traba. In the 17 th century the " cloister and lodgings which clearly reflected its monasterial origins" were still standing, as reported by Jeronimo del Hoyo. Nowadays, the only reference which there is to the original monastery and its inhabitants are two place-names: " Eira do Mosteiro " and " Río dos Pios " ( river of the pious ). The Romanesque part of the church, almost all of it, was built in 1134. The monastery was linked to Santa María de Cambre, San Martiño Pinario and the collegiate church of Santa María of A Corunha.

Every summer, in July and August, the "Noites Musicais" ( musical evenings which locals and outsiders attend ) are organised with the aim of promoting the Romanesque art in the area. The inside of the church can only be visited when Mass is held ( 8pm).

Building stages
The Basilical structure, the square pillars, the wooden-beamed roof and the uneven floor are the pre-Romanesque remains of the church. The apse, the south entrance, the north wall and the now missing main façade are the Romanesque remains. Towards the end of the 19th century the romanesque façade was substituded for a barroque one, with no real outsanding features.

Southern side entrance
It´s framed by two columns, adjoining the walls, which end with capitals decorated with plant-life. The plain tympanum has a chequered pattern arching it.

Group of apses
It consists of three apses. The central one, pentagonal in shape, is covered by a spherical vault and half-columns. The side apses are semicylindrical and covered by a semicircular vault. An excellent example of a collection of corbels can be seen attatched to the eave.

Northern wall
Another collection, of twelve corbels and two inscriptions, which inform us of the date of the Romanesque building stage, are to be found on the northern wall.

The inside
The triumphal arch appears to be held up by two adjoined columns which end in capitals which have lavish plant-life decoration. In the apse on the left, there´s a capital with two lions in an agressive attitude.

Pre-christian alta
Set into the altar of the right apse, it´s rectangular in shape. It´s sides are defined by a three-line engraved frame. The surface, where the inscription would have been, was smoothed down as a symbol of christianization.

Santiago Peregrino (Saint James, pilgrim)
In the north apse (or the apse of Saint Anthony) there´s a mediaeval figure of Santiago Peregrino made from polychrome wood, which has been included in an exhibition about St. James. It´s original location was the chapel of the Espiritu Santo.