Our tourist route along the most remarkable archaelogical sites of Vigo starts at the El Castro park, where the ancient village that has now become the city of Vigo was situated. We can then move on…
Vigo. cultural heritage
Our tourist route along the most remarkable archaelogical sites of Vigo starts at the El Castro park, where the ancient village that has now become the city of Vigo was situated. We can then move on to the Roman village of Toralla with its three medieval Romanesque churches: Santiago de Bembrive, San Salvador de Coruxo and Santa María de Castrelos. We will enjoy here attractive Renaissance mural paintings.
Beautiful examples of Renaissance architecture –as well as old paved squares that served as open-air markets- can also be found at Vigo´s city centre. Among them are the Zeta and Figueroa buildings, the latter currently harbouring the Camoes Institute of the Portuguese Culture. A walk around the old town includes visits to picturesque places like A Pedra (tip: try the oysters there), the ruins of the A Laxe fortress, the walk of Montero Rios, and numerous examples of last century´s regionalist and modernistic arquitecture.
The city is rich in cultural activities. Its museums are distributed along three different routes.
The first route includes museums and cultural facilities situated in the city centre, being the most prominent:
- MARCO: Vigo´s Museum of Contemporary Art offers exhibitions of both national and international artists with different styles and techniques.
- Casa das Artes. Public facility for temporary exhibitions.
- Centro Cultural Caixanova: New private-run facilities providing a number of exhibition and conference rooms. It holds Caixanova´s permanent collection of Galician art.
- Centro Sociocultural Caixanova: Erected by the renowned arquitect Antonio Palacios, it was the first space open to local cultural activities.
- Fundación CaixaGalicia. Conference and exhibition rooms with permanent collections and activities.
- Fundación Laxeiro: This is a museum dedicated to Laxeiro, a renowned painter that contributed to the renewal of the Galician Art in the 1920s.
- Casa da Cultura Galega-Museo Fernández del Riego. It holds the largest library in the Galician language and the legacy of the Fundaciones Penzol and Fernández del Riego.
- Centro de Artesanía Tradicional. Centre for the exhibition, development and recovery of traditional crafts.
- Casa do Cesteiro. Exhibition room and training centre in basketwork.
Our second route is not far from the city centre, on the way to the Pastora-Castrelos area. Here we can visit:
- Museo de Castrelos. A museum with a peculiar palace-like structure built during the Renaissance. It holds collections of archaeology, as well as about the history of the city and 20th century Galician Art. Equally, first-line European painters are represented here.
- Museo Olimpio Liste. In a typical bourgeois building of the 1950s, we find ethnographical collections exhibited in a modern, entertaining and original setup. * Iglesia Románica Castrelos. Renaissance paintings as well as abundant rural ornaments can be seen in this Roman Church.
The third route is close to the seaside and includes:
- Museo del Mar. An old fish-salting facility surrounded by beautiful beaches where we can learn about all the historical and scientific facts that underscore Vigo´s relationship with the sea.
- Verbum, Casa das Palabras. The “House of the Words” is an interactive museum about human communication.
- Toralla´s Roman archaelogical site. The ruins of this Roman village are an example of the interaction between the Romans and the native population at the dawn of this era.
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