Valverde: Religious Heritage, Archaeology and Monte Valverde

Valverde combines religious heritage, archaeological traces and the landscape around Monte Valverde. Since 2018, the Iglesia de San Pedro de Valverde has been part of Valverde’s religious cultural heritage. The Church of San Pedro de Valverde is also associated with the Camino de Invierno, the Winter Way of St. James.

Culture and History

The Monastery of San Pedro de Valverde forms part of the historical core of this heritage. It belonged to the Benedictine order and was commissioned in 1124 by Munio Romani and María Petriz. The church and monastery are named as two independent historical sites within Valverde, making different aspects of the town’s religious history visible. The year 1124 and the names of the commissioners also provide the monastery with a specifically dated historical classification.

Archaeology

The open-air archaeological site of Valverde lies on a small level area halfway up the southwestern slope of the Monte Valverde of the same name. The site is located 380 metres above sea level and directly connects the name of the place with the mountain on whose slope it lies. Its location is therefore assigned neither to the summit nor to the valley floor, but to a mid-slope position on the southwestern slope.

During archaeological surveys and test excavations, a total of 2,434 stone artefacts were recovered there in 2008 and 2009. Numerous Upper Palaeolithic artefacts had already been found in Valverde in 2007. The archaeological information therefore includes both the numerous finds from 2007 and the stone artefacts recovered later during the surveys and test excavations.

Landscape and Rock Formations

Monte Valverde provides the spatial reference for the archaeological site, the rock area and the viewpoint. The summit offers panoramic views over the Lemos Valley. The Penedo de San Roque rock area lies approximately 500 metres from the summit of Monte Valverde. The named places are thus distributed across different points of the mountain: the archaeological site lies on the southwestern slope, the viewpoint at the summit and the rock area in its immediate vicinity.

Penedo de San Roque is said to have served as shelter for Palaeolithic hunters. The rock area is also associated with several local legends about the Mouros. Archaeological tradition and local storytelling therefore exist side by side at this site, without the legends changing the described historical status of the finds. The rock area thus combines a narrative of Palaeolithic use with the traditional Mouros legends.

Directions and Route

The Fuente de Valverde lies approximately 50 metres to the left of the road to the parish of A Parte. Access to Monte Valverde begins in Ribas Altas, leads via Outeiriño and then continues along the southern slope to the summit. The subsequent section consists of a 1.7-kilometre unpaved track. For practical orientation, both the named starting and intermediate points and the condition and length of the final section are therefore specified. The route ends at the summit, from which the described view over the Lemos Valley extends.

More local pages: Chantada, Ribas de Sil, Ribadeo, O Vicedo, Coence, Merille, Vilar, Novelúa

For the higher-level travel overview: Lugo.