A gem of the Mendicant Gothic style, with a Latin cross plan, polychrome stained-glass windows and polygonal apses. Listed as a Historic-Artistic Monument si...

In the Praza da Soidade, next to the Provincial Museum, it once belonged to the former Franciscan convent. Tradition has it that Saint Francis founded his convent in Lugo during his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in 1214. Whether this is true or not, there appears to be evidence of the Franciscans’ presence in the city as early as 1230. In addition to the church, the convent’s buildings that have been preserved include the kitchen, the refectory and the cloister, which are now part of the Provincial Museum. The complex was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1931. The convent church is a beautifully preserved gem of Mendicant Gothic architecture. It has a Latin cross plan, with a single narrow, long nave, entered through a magnificent portal with a triple pointed archivolt which, instead of a tympanum, is topped by a lobe, and is crowned by a large window with two mullions. Both the main nave and the transept are covered by wooden roofs supported by tall pointed arches. The chancel, impressive both from the outside and inside, consists of three polygonal apses covered by fan vaults. Towering double pointed-arch windows with mullions – four in the central apse and three in each of the side apses – work in tandem with the large south-facing rose window to illuminate the church, which is a pure delight of light, softened by the polychrome stained-glass windows.