Pontevedra City, Pontevedra 
Pontevedra City - Overview:
The provincial capital of Pontevedra is located in its own ria (bay) and is bisected by the 'rio' (river) 'Lerez'. The main areas of this city popular with tourists are nearly all on the south side of the river where the original old town is situated.
Pontevedra city has a long maritime and trading tradition, boasting one of the largest and most elegant historic quarters in the whole of Galicia. Situated on the edge of the estuary of the same name, the old town extends in a network of streets and squares and contains major civic and religious buildings. The original settlement emerged where the river Lerez and the Pontevedra estuary meet.
Pontevedra City - Sightseeing:
Pontevedra city has a walled enclosure of cobbled streets and small secluded squares, some of them arcaded. Situated at the centre of the historic quarter is the Plaza de Espana and the City Hall, an eclectic building constructed in the 19th Century. Its main facade is defined by four pairs of columns, a balcony and clock.
Opposite the City Hall is the Alameda, a wide avenue lined by grand civic buildings such as the Diputacion (provincial government), the 19th-century facade of which contrasts with the medieval ruins of the convent of Santo Domingo. This 14th-century complex has National Monument status.
One of the sites of the Provincial Museum, this enclave houses architectural elements of various origins, such as Romanesque and Gothic capitals, gravestones and sarcophagi.
Another place of interest in old Pontevedra is the Sanctuary of the Pilgrim (18th century), which preserves the image of the city's patron saint. The work of the Portuguese architect Antonio Souto, it has an almost circular ground plan and a Baroque facade with several 18th-century Neoclassical additions.
Situated opposite this church is the traditional Plaza de la Ferreria, which is surrounded by important buildings such as the church and convent of San Francisco, constructed in the late pointed style between the 14th and 15th centuries. Based on a Latin-cross ground plan with a sanctuary and three apses, it contains several medieval sarcophagi.
A tour of Pontevedra takes in typical shopping streets named after specific guilds and granite squares such as the Plaza del Teucro, Plaza de Cinco Calles and the Plaza de la Verdura, finally arriving at the basilica of Santa Maria.
Constructed during the 16th century by the guild of sailors, this grand Renaissance church displays great sophistication. The interior of the building boasts a nave and two lateral aisles covered by rib-vaults and a series of lateral chapels. The outstanding feature of the exterior is the main facade, the work of Cornelis de Holanda and Juan Nobre. All of this combines to produce one of the jewels of Galician art.
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