Saint Mary's Cathedral

Lugo, an original Roman settlement, was the first urban center that existed in Galicia before the discovery of the tomb of the Apostle in the 19th century. It is located on the Camino Primitivo around 60 miles from Santiago de Compostela.

Legend states that King Alfonso II the Chaste, the first to go on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, walked through here shortly after the discovery of the tomb to pay his respects.

Back then, the young king encountered the cathedral, which Bishop Odoario had constructed in the 8th century, with a beauty that inspired him to erect the one in Oviedo. The only reference that remains of this time is in a medieval inscription—an acrostic in which the first letters of each line spell the word ODOAR.

Some old legends carry the city's Jacobean link way back by hinting that the Apostle, during his evangelism of Gallaecia, had preached in the Roman city of Lugo (called Lucus Augusti) and was attracted here as it was the most important locality in the northeast at the time.

The early Odoario cathedral was rebuilt from 1129 in a unique 12th-century Romanesque style. Although it has been touched up in later decades, this building is the one that is still here today.

Typical for cathedrals, the building was subject to huge changes throughout the centuries. The Roman center was expanded with successive Gothic, Baroque, and neoclassical elements that extended its construction until the end of the 19th century.

It has a Latin cross plan with three naves, a transept, and ambulatory: a corridor that goes around the apse of the main chapel, used in medieval churches on pilgrimage routes to help believers travel between the different chapels.

Saint Mary's Cathedral was granted permission by the Pope to permanently exhibit the Blessed Sacrament. For this reason, Lugo is known as the city of the Sacrament.

The cathedral's treasures were virtually obliterated during the Napoleonic pillage of 1809. One beautiful piece of furniture was saved: the Renaissance altarpiece that was on the high altar, a work by Cornelis de Holanda.

In the early 21st century the Baroque paintings in the high altar of the cathedral, which stand out due to their theatrics, were recovered. They include pictures by Astorgan artist José de Terán from the 18th century.

The shrine of Nuestra Señora de los Ojos Grandes, patroness of the city, is another distinguishing feature of the cathedral. It is attached to the center of the ambulatory and is one of the most accomplished icons of Baroque Galicia.

The exterior is dominated by 18th- and 19th-century Baroque and neoclassical panels. The collection of different volumes looks especially attractive from the Plaza de Santa María.

In the 18th century, construction also began on the main facade in a neoclassical style, inspired by Roman examples. Its construction was delayed until 1880, when the side towers were finished and the cathedral gained its current appearance.