Basílica de Santa María la Mayor

This basilica is the city's pride and joy, as well as a symbol of the power held by the fishermen's guild during the Middle Ages. With some traces of the Portuguese Manueline style, it is one of the best examples of Gothic architecture in Galicia and it was declared a Site of Cultural Interest in 1931. The facade was designed by Cornelius de Holanda and Joâo Nobre in the form of a large stone altarpiece where the Plateresque and Manueline styles come together. The iconography is very interesting: their self-portraits, Saint Jerome wearing glasses and even a sculpture of Christopher Columbus. Near the side entrance is the statue of the Christ of Safe Travel, patron saint of seafarers. They would visit it in the early morning to pray for safety before they went out to sea. The church is composed of a nave and two aisles with ribbed vaults. It has a high altar from the 20th century, with a central statue of the Assumption of Mary surrounded by angels and apostles. The side chapels have altars for Saint Rita, Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Anthony. The bell tower is reached via a staircase of more than a hundred steps and composed of a small museum and a lookout over the historic centre and the ría (‘estuary’) of Pontevedra.