Our Lady of the Viso

Santuario de la Baixa Limia · Lobeira (Ourense)

On the top of O Viso, dominating the Baixa Limia, a sanctuary of late Romanesque origin congregates each September the regional Romeria to the Virgen del Viso.

Origin and history

The shrine of O Viso, on the top of the Baixa Limia, is one of the few examples of late Romanesque of the region, of rectangular plant with apse; a review describes it as a simple temple reformed at the end of the 18th century. A dispute documented in 1693 between the parish priests of Santa Comba de Bande and San Vicente de Lobeira for the rights of the sanctuary proves that it was already a consolidated Marian place of worship, with inflow, offerings and rents.

It is a high-rise sanctuary that functions as a center of communal Romeria, to which the faithful of the Baixa Limia come in mid-September. A local guide points out that it could be settled on a castro, as possible Christianization of an ancient cult, which is presented as a hypothesis.

Formal patronage and canonical coronation: not found in the sources.