This is the old vegetable garden of St Dominic’s Convent, which today is a poplar grove and the administrative centre of the capital. We can find here the Town Hall, the County Council Offices, the old Teaching School, the Secondary School, the Faculty of Fine Arts... all of them are buildings from the late 19th century.
On the head of the poplar grove and surrounded by a pool, there is a memorial to Pontesampayo heroes, which commemorates the heroic deed of Galician people in the Peninsular War.
Dominicans arrived in Pontevedra in the late 12th century. In the late 13th century they started to build their convent, first in A Moureira, then in this place.
In the 18th century, the old building began to be rebuilt in Neo - classical style. This reconstruction could not be finished because of secularization. That’s why the head of the temple and its five polygonal apses of Gothic style could be preserved. The façade of the chapter house from the 15th century is also preserved. The rest of the building was pulled down in the late 19th century to build the Secondary School.
Inside there are still tombs leant against the walls with reclining statues of illustrious characters in Pontevedra’s history. In the first chapel, Tristán de Montenegro; in the last one on the right, Payo Gómez de Soutomaior and in the central chapel, Suero Gómez de Soutomaior. All of them were illustrious people of Pontevedra, who wanted to be buried here and today share the room with part of the archaeological section of Pontevedra’s Museum. This section was created in 1927 and officially opened in 1938. Wonderful Roman, Visigothic and Medieval remains are exhibited in this museum.
In an annexe to this building we find the medieval arches of St Bartholomew, the Old (San Bartolomé el Viejo), which is a church pulled down in the middle of the 19th century to build the present-day Curros Enríquez Square.

Long ago, Pontevedra was one of the most important military centres in Galicia. The famous
Galician ballad says:
Anque vou a Pontevedra
non vou por ver os Soldados;
vou por ver a Pelengrina
a dos Pendentes Dourados.
The brotherhood called Nuestra Señora del Refugio y Divina Peregrina was founded in the 18th century. This worship was promoted by Franciscans and came from Sahagún.
On 18th June 1778 the first stone of the Pilgrim Virgin Church was placed. Tradition has it that the pilgrim came from Efeso to go on a pilgrimage to Jacob’s tomb and stopped in Pontevedra for a rest.
The origin of tradition is linked to the Southern Route or Portuguese Road to Santiago de Compostela, which could be also called the Route of the Pilgrim Virgin. The route arrived here through the old entrance called Porta de Trabancas or Porta da Vila.
The church, of Baroque and Neo - classical styles, has scallop - shaped circular floor and original curved façade.
The Virgin, Jacob and St Joseph appear in the main front.
We can also see the image of the patron saint of Pontevedra with the hat with pilgrim shells and the pilgrim’s staff and the gourd on her hand. The Child is on her left arm.

The holy water stoup is a great shell, which was donated by Admiral Méndez Núñez.

It is the most characteristic church in Pontevedra.
This is Herrería Square. The famous poem says:
Pontevedra é boa vila
dá de beber a quen pasa
a fonte da ferrería
san bartolomé na plaza.
The fountain lies nowadays on the surroundings of St Francis.
Here were the ironworks under the arcades that sheltered the market later and today form a unique monumental whole.
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