Pontevedra, a town of Roman origin (Pontus Veteris) and founded, according to legend, by Teucro, one of the heroes of the Trojan War, is today the capital of the province. Its old quarter, which was declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1951, has beautiful streets that lead to an endless number of charming squares, as well as important civil and religious monuments and beautiful stately homes.

In the 14th century the monks of the Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (the Templars) took possession of the old temple of the city dedicated to Saint Mary and planted an olive tree in its atrium. The Templars eventually disappeared, but the olive tree remained until 1816, when they demolished the old temple and built the present one, in neoclassical style.