Aquis Querquennis

Area of interest: Church of Santa Comba - AquisQuerquennis 3D

Aquis3D 15 May, 2020 No Comments

A church from the Visigoth era attributed to the 7th century. It was apparently part of an old monastery or cenobium. It shares features with other churches of the time, of which there are few in Galicia.

Santa Comba, Bande - View from front
Santa Comba, Bande – View from front
Santa Comba, Bande - View from top
Santa Comba, Bande – View from top

Its plan is a Greek cross, covered with groin and half barrel vaults organised around a central emerging lantern.

The horseshoe arch has a special role and separates the apse from the central nave. It has little decoration either on the walls or on the capitals, two of which are from Roman times. These support the arch of the apse, whose preserved enclosure has religious paintings from the second half of the 16th century. A carving of San Torcuato presides over the temple.

In the entrance porch, there are 3 openings, one of which is walled where you can read the following inscription above a shield:

ESTA CAPILLA FVNDO Y DOTO GASPAR RODRIGUES DE ARVO I ABBAD DE SANTA COMBA ANNO

Inscription in Santa Comba, Bande
Inscription in Santa Comba, Bande

Inside the church there are vestiges from the Roman era: an altar that was used later as an altar, a split milestone from Hadrian’s time which is used as a baptismal font, a plaque with reliefs and a large marble sarcophagus attributed to Saint Torquatus. In reality, its occupant is unknown and it is suspected that it may have belonged to the founder of the church.

Santa Comba de Bande – San Torcuato
Santa Comba de Bande – San Torcuato