O Corpiño

In the heart of Galicia, in the lands through which runs the river that gives name to this
region—the Deza river—, is located the present Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de O Corpiño, at the foot of Mount Carrio. Its origins are in the 8th century, when a hermit greatly admired by the local people—because he was an example of faith and great devotion to the Virgin Mary—lived in the mountain. Upon his death, the locals decide to build a simple building of humble proportions, housing his incorrupt body. After the arrival of the Arabs, the place was unfortunately abandoned until the 13th century, when the Holy Virgin Mary appears to a few shepherd boys, a text set out in detail in the appearances section.

What had previously been a place of devotion to the hermit, a man of special sensitivity towards the Mother of God, became a centre of pilgrimage dedicated to Her, the Virgin Mary. It is logical to assume that they quickly build some sort of building to mark the spot chosen by the Mother of God to approach men, in other words, the same place in which the apparitions of the Virgin Mary took place. However, the works that will result in the construction of the great current Sanctuary start in 1743. First, between 1743 and 1768, a single-nave church was erected. From 1782 to 1803 the church was expanded to adopt the Latin Cross plan. Between 1867 and 1872, it would be inserted into a hall church with two new lateral naves joined to the original central nave with several arches.