Torre de San Sadurniño

The San Sadurniño Tower is in the A Figueira Islet, located in the fishermen’s quarter of Santo Tomé. It was built during the 8th or 9th centuries AD, although it is possible that the site it was built upon was even older. Many battles were fought around this tower and there are multiple local stories about attacks on the city and looting attempts by the Vikings. The tower was created to protect the territory from these raids and to keep watch on the estuary. It was also a way to inform other towns and cities of imminent attacks, from Cambados to Santiago de Compostela. It was visible from Torres del Oeste in Catoira, a strategic place for the defence and protection of the city of Santiago. The tower was rebuilt during the 12th century when it was the property of Diego Gelmírez, archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, who had to buy it before risking losing strategic control of his lands. During the 15th century, the Kingdom of Galicia experienced the peasants’ rebellion, and the tower was destroyed during the Irmandiño revolts between 1466 and 1470. A few years later it was acquired by Pedro Madruga’s brother, Suero Gómez de Sotomayor, who rebuilt it. In 1755 there was a massive earthquake that damaged the entire west coast of the Iberian Peninsula, and the tower was destroyed once again. Nobody repaired it after that. At present it is publicly owned and one of the most characteristic monuments of Cambados.