What to see in Barbadelo?
Church of Santiago de Barbadelo
The great monument of the parish is the 12th-century Romanesque church of Santiago, beside the Camino at the place called O Mosteiro. Its portals have capitals and tympana with very expressive figures, and its square tower can be seen from afar.
Where it is
Barbadelo, a parish in the municipality of Sarria, lies at about 560 metres above sea level, a few kilometres from the town. The Camino arrives along a lovely stretch among oaks and stone walls, the first of many that welcome the pilgrim starting in Sarria.
History
The monastery
Barbadelo appears in 9th-century documents, and in the 11th century it had a double monastery, of monks and nuns, which later came under Samos. With the 19th-century disentailment it remained as a parish.
The Codex Calixtinus tells that the innkeepers of Santiago sent people all the way here to lure pilgrims to their businesses, an early example of trickery on the Camino.
The places of the parish
The parish brings together some twenty places:
- Abeledo
- As Paredes
- Baxán
- A Devesa
- Loureiro
- Marzán
- Melle
- Miralde
- O Monte
- O Mosteiro
- O Pico
- A Rañoá
- Rente
- Sabenche
- San Martiño
- San Silvestre
- A Serra
- Surriba
- Taíde
- Vilar
- Vilei
There is also an abandoned place, O Souto. A pre-Roman hill fort survives at As Paredes.
In short
Barbadelo is the first charming stop after Sarria: a Romanesque church among oaks and the start of the last hundred kilometres.