Our Lady of the Cows

15th century chapel in the city of Avila

Extoras de Ávila, a 15th-century hermitage, Good of Cultural Interest, keeps Our Lady of the Cows, an image of ancient devotion crowned in 2016; her May Romeria runs through the city to the "El Gato Montés."

Origin and history

The hermitage of Our Lady of the Vacas, south of Avila, was built in the 15th century - sponsored by the noble Juan Núñez Dávila - on an earlier 13th century that belonged to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem; it has been declared a National Monument since 1992. The image, of medieval origin, is linked to a former secular patronage with roots in 1258. It was canonically crowned in 2016.

Its most characteristic feature is the process - Romeria of the second Sunday of May, which runs throughout the city: when it comes to the avenue of Madrid, the double "El Gato Montés" is played, and when the image returns it turns to the balconies where there are devotees, a gesture of very deep-rooted closeness.