Monasterio de Santa Maria

It was one of the most prosperous monasteries in the whole of Galicia. Founded in the high mediaeval age, it underwent a preliminary reconstruction in the 12th century, although practically nothing has survived from the Romanesque church of the time.
 

It was practically rebuilt in the 17th century. In has a single nave with a coffered vault and a dome in the transept supported on eight pilasters. Its most surprising feature is its magnificent Baroque façade, with four colossal columns with a quartz and slate chequerboard decoration between them.
 

Highlights of the interior include the decoration of the chapel of the Virgin of La Cela, and several 15th-century tombs. Of particular interest among the cloisters in the monastic site (16th-18th centuries) is the one designed by Juan de Herrera.