A Lanzada Hermitage and Tower

"The tower of A Lanzada may have originally been a Phoenician or Roman lighthouse, as some archaeologists suppose, but the first document that mentions it is from the 10th century in connection with the repairs made by Sisenando as part of his plan to defend the Arousa estuary. The tower was used to signal the approach of unknown ships and was in communication with that of Cálogo de Vilanova de Arousa through that of San Sadurniño de Cambados. It was owned by the bishops of Compostela and the scene of fights between Xelmírez and Queen Urraca. She managed to seize the fortress, but returned it to the archbishop in 1121 as a sign of definitive reconciliation. A year later, the Arabs attacked and destroyed it. The fortress was rebuilt with great strength, so that it was one of the most difficult for the Irmandiños to storm (15th century). Abandoned since the end of the 16th century, only one of the walls remains standing and the castle chapel, which has been converted into a hermitage."

VICTOR MARTINEZ

"A place of incredible historical value and one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen, from this cliff.
There's a small Romanesque chapel from the early 13th century, built on top of a 10th-century fortress. It's flanked by two beaches, Praia da Nosa Senhora and Praia Area Gorda, and guarded by the Torre da Lanzada, estimated to date from 952, built by the merinos of Iria Flavia to defend against Norman attacks. A place that combines history, culture, and mystery."

Andrea San

"The Torre da Lanzada is located at the entrance to the small peninsula between Praia de Areas Gordas and Praia Foxos. The stones of the tower, which are still standing, are the last remains of a fortification built in the 10th century. These stones, along with the Torre de San Sadurniño in Cambados and the Torre de Oeste in Catoira, formed part of the defensive complex that used bonfires to warn of maritime incursions by Normans, and later by Berber pirates, against Santiago de Compostela. Next to the Torre de A Lanzada is the erroneously named "Castro de A Lanzada", where remains have been found that have been dated between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD. It should be noted that archaeologists have serious doubts about whether this is actually a hill fort, because, although it was inhabited during the Iron Age, it does not have the basic characteristics of hill forts: no defensive structures have been found, and it is not located on a hilltop, as are most hill forts (with the exception of Castro de Baroña). Specialists are more inclined to define the site as a commercial enclave that, over the course of fifteen centuries (from the 8th century BC to the 7th century AD), received goods from various places around the Mediterranean. Also, next to the tower of the Torre de A Lanzada is the Ermida de Nosa Señora de A Lanzada, the nerve center of the celebrations of an important pilgrimage, which on the last weekend of August, commemorates through religious, gastronomic and festive acts ancient fertility rites in which the woman wishing to have offspring must first have lain down on the so-called "Bed of the Virgin", then be attacked by nine waves on the nearby "Praia da Nosa Señora" and then, obviously, for the fertility rite to take effect, requires the participation of a man."

J.M.Q.