Iglesia de Santiago de Peñalba

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About Iglesia de Santiago de Peñalba

Peñalba de Santiago is a village of stone houses and slate roofs in the Montes Aquilianos, about 20 km south of Ponferrada, atop a valley called vale do Silêncio. Between the 8th and 10th centuries, these isolated mountains attracted hermits and monks, and the region earned the nickname Tebaida leonesa, referring to the deserts of Egypt where the early monks lived.

The church of Santiago is what remains of a monastery founded by São Genádio, bishop of Astorga, and was inaugurated in 937 by his disciple, Abbot Salomão. It is one of the best-preserved examples of Mozarabic art, the art of Christians who lived under Muslim rule and brought it north. The plan has two apses on opposite sides, and the entrance has a double horseshoe arch supported by marble columns.

Inside, the church is small, with vaults, traces of mural paintings and the space where, according to tradition, São Genádio was buried. Around it, the village preserves mountain architecture, with wooden balconies.

From the village depart trails through the vale do Silêncio, including the path that leads to the cave of São Genádio, where the saint lived as a hermit.