Co-cathedral - Basilica of Santa María de Vigo

The collegiate church or Co-cathedral of Santa María de Vigo is one of the finest examples of neoclassical architecture in Galicia.
 

Together with the cathedral of Tuy, it serves as the episcopal seat of the diocese of Tuy-Vigo. It was designated as a Basilica by the Vatican in 2020.
 

The building we see today replaces the old collegiate church, which was damaged in 1809 by the explosion of a powder magazine at the castle of Castro. The previous church was built in the 12th century with a cemetery. It was dedicated to Santa María.
 

On this temple, another was built in a Gothic style (late 14th century – 1403), maintaining some chapels and transepts from the previous one. It became a collegiate church in 1497. In 1585, the pirate Francis Drake sacked the church, and it was considerably renovated in 1680.
 

The construction of the current temple was carried out by Melchor de Prado and Mariño, an academician of the Royal Academy of San Fernando. Its predominant style is neoclassical. It has a basilica ground plan with three naves, the central one being higher than the lateral ones.
 

Its façade presents a very simple classical image. Both the walls and the play of volumes are quite smooth and sober. Its central portal is framed with two thick pilasters, slightly advanced, under a triangular pediment. The entrance of this portal is lintelled, above which there is a cartouche with a rectangular frame. Above this cartouche rises a semicircular arch with a small oculus in the centre. In contrast to the sobriety of the façade, the baroque bell towers are located on either side.
 

Both the central nave and the lateral ones are covered with barrel vaults. The naves are separated by robust Doric columns on which rests the entablature with triglyphs and metopes. The result is an interior with marked and sober classicism. Two sacristies flank the main altar, as well as a series of chapels in the lateral naves.