The Ethnographic Collection of O Cebreiro

O Cebreiro is a village defined by its location, its history, its legends, and the greatness of its architecture, a highlight being its pallozas.

The pallozas consist of an oval-shaped floor adapted to the terrain, low walls with little gaps where you can feel the cold …

… and a tall and thick rye straw roof, capable of supporting the weight of the snow and the force of the wind.

Each palloza includes everything needed to be able to survive the winter without having to go outside. Their interior structure is very basic, with people and livestock living together in very close quarters.

The palloza is a type of dwelling that is characteristic of the mountains of Lugo, Asturias, and Leon, primarily in the mountains of Os Ancares. They fell into disuse in the second half of the 20th century. In the village of Piornedo, near O Cebreiro, you can visit a bigger and better preserved collection consisting of 17 pallozas.

The four pallozas in O Cebreiro have been transformed into an ethnographic museum that presents the traditional way of life of the region through the architecture, furniture, and tools used in daily life and for textile, agriculture, and farming work.

The Xan López palloza, based at the entrance of the village, is presented as a museum of daily life in the Lugo mountains.

The Quico palloza, with an almost intact interior structure, offers a look into the area's economy.

The Galán palloza, which stands out due to its covering, provides information on the palloza as a dwelling that has been efficiently adapted to the natural environment.

Finally, the Campelo palloza has been reinstated as a storehouse and multi-purpose room.

The complex is situated on the border of the pre-Romantic sanctuary of Santa María la Real, linked to the Jacobean route. As a hospital and hostel, the building has offered help to pilgrims since its origins in the 9th century.

The church of this sanctuary is the burial site of Elías Valiña, a priest of the chapel and a great supporter of the Camino Francés. Valiña was the first volunteer who marked the way of the Jacobean route using yellow arrows, known across the world today.

According to the legend, a peasant from a nearby village traveled to O Cebreiro one day for mass when it was snowing heavily. The priest scolded him for having risked his life on the journey just to kneel down before a piece of bread and wine, but during the consecration, the wafer transformed into meat and the wine into blood. 

News of the miracle spread so widely that it reached the Catholic rulers, Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon, who visited O Cebreiro. On their pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in 1486, they donated the reliquaries, which, along with the chalice, are exhibited in the church.