Sandiás
Encyclopedia
Sandiás is a municipality of Galicia, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, next to Xinzo de Limia
Xinzo de Limia
Xinzo de Limia , is a town in the province of Ourense, Autonomous Community of Galicia, Spain. It lies on the important Autovia das Rias Baixas in the fertile valley of Antela, approximately 33 km from Verín and 43 km from Ourense...

 in the province of Ourense
Ourense
Ourense is a city in northwestern Spain, the capital of the province of the same name in Galicia. Its population of 108,674 accounts for 30% of the population of the province and makes it the third largest city of Galicia.-Population:...

. Its estimated population is 1,585, distributed among 3 parishes (Couso de Limia, Piñeira de Arcos, Sandiás). Its area is 53 km², a great part of which is drained fields from the Antela lagoon. This is an agricultural area. Potatoes and cereals are the most important crop. Sand extractions are also important for local development.

History

The first sign of inhabitants are the remains of lake dwellings (lake dwelling) in the Antela lagoon. Due to Roman milestone findings, it is known that a Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...

 (Roman road XVIII or Via Nova) passed through the area; there is also a Roman mansion in the village of Sandiás.

In the Middle Ages, its castle witnessed the struggle for the secession of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, fights among the nobles, and peasant riots. Portuguese and Southern Spanish pilgrims (Via the “Silver road”) went through Sandiás on their way to Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...

 (Way of St James).

Important landmarks

The council has an interesting and rich historical artistic heritage.
As for the religious architecture, we must highlight the Gothic church of Santo Estevo de Sandiás, work made by Bartolomé de Nosendo, around 1520.

The hermitage of San Bieito da Uceira has an only nave and it has a front crowned with a bulrush and a bell tower with two pyramids on the sides. Inside it, there is a baroque or neo classical altarpiece with the images of San Ramón, Santa Lucía and San Bieito.
Other churches are Santa María in Couso de Limia, the chapel of Arcos, the chapel of Coalloso, the chapel in Zadagós…
As for the civil constructions we can highlight the medieval tower of the Castro. Other interesting constructions are the three stately homes and a house that belonged to the nobility. The Casona in Santa Ana with L shape floor, with a big door and an interesting shield, has a chapel. The stately home of Espido presents a rectangular floor, a curious chimney and, on the main door, several shields. Its chapel with wooden baroque altarpiece is beside the building. Another stately home is the one of Penedo, risen in two stages. The first part is from the 16th century (1552) and the newest one from the 18th century (1758). This last one has rectangular floor. The chapel of the stately home dates from 1542. The third stately home is the one of Telleiro. Its U shape stands out, two shields and the wall that closes this building. It is thought to be from the late 17th century but it had important modifications in the following century. It also has a circular dovecote but it is not inside the wall. It used to have a chapel.

St. Stephen's church

An example of Galician renaissance art. Built before 1520. The front piece belongs to the ¨manuelino¨ style (Portuguese style, rare in Galicia). The altarpiece was built in 1603 by the famous Galician sculptor Bartolome de Moure. It has a nave and a rectangular apse, arches over columns with capitals with Renaissant motives.

The tower of the old castle

Probably built in the first half of the 12th century (although some legends say it was built in the 9th century), it was located over a castrum (Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....

ic settlement). It participated in the Portugal secession wars (XII). In 1386 it was assaulted by the duke of Lancaster
Duke of Lancaster
There were several Dukes of Lancaster in the 14th and early 15th Centuries. See also Duchy of Lancaster.There were three creations of the Dukedom of Lancaster....

, pretender to the Castile
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...

crown. In the 15th century it was demolished by a popular riot, and rebuilt later. It was a meeting point for troops in the wars with Portugal in the 18th century. There are many legends about this castle.

External links

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