Igrexa de Santa María do Azougue, Gothic church in Betanzos, Spain.
Igrexa de Santa María do Azougue is a 14th–15th-century Gothic church in Betanzos with a basilical plan of three naves and four bays, all ending in a triple apse. The central apse is heptagonal and wider than the square side chapels; only these three spaces are covered with ribbed vaults, while the naves remain unvaulted. The main portal has a semicircular arch with inverted-palm motifs and a tympanum showing the Adoration of the Magi and the Annunciation, topped by a large rose window.
Construction began in the late 1300s and continued into the early 1400s, showing the extended building process needed for such a structure. The church received National Monument status in 1944, marking formal recognition of its historical importance.
The main chapel's altarpiece was installed in the 15th century as a Hispano-Flemish work; in 1748 its frame was replaced and the original Gothic carvings of the life of Christ, gilded and polychrome, were placed in it. All the carvings were stolen in 1981 and later gradually recovered. The north portal shows the Last Judgment, with Saint Michael weighing a soul on a balance.
The church stands in Betanzos's old town, a short walk from the Praza dos Irmáns García Naveira and the town's other historic churches. The main south facade, with its Epiphany tympanum and rose window, faces the street and can be examined from outside at any time. The north doorway, carved with a Last Judgment scene, is on the side away from the main approach.
In 2022, restoration work funded by the Xunta de Galicia moved the San Pedro altarpiece and revealed a previously unknown arcosolium with stone figures, polychromy and a mural painting panel above a burial. It is the only funerary arcosolium in Betanzos that keeps both polychromy and wall paintings.
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