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Museo de Historia Natural de la USC
Managed by the University of Santiago, set within Vista Alegre Park. Features collections on zoology, botany, geology, and biodiversity.
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Benedictine monastery rebuilt in the 16th century and closed down in the 19th. It became a seminary and museum, and also contains a simple hotel, see below.
Museo de San Martiño Pinario
Housed in Spain's second largest monastery complex. Exhibits Baroque religious imagery, an old printing press, a historic pharmacy, liturgical garments, and access to the monumental main altarpiece.
Massive cathedral built from 1075 but only consecrated in 1211. It's mostly Romanesque but each facade is different and fronts onto a plaza. The main entrance is west from Praza do Obradoiro: this facade is 18th century Baroque, with its pair of stonking towers. You pass through the Pórtico da Gloria into the nave, which at first looks plain till your eyes adjust and you see the altar and other decor. The crypt below the main altar has the supposed tomb of Santiago, Saint James. A huge Botafumeiro - an 80 kg silver incense burner - is normally on display in the library but for major religious events it's hitched up on pulleys and swung through the nave by a team of red-robed tiraboleiros. They needed such a big one to disguise the stench of medieval pilgrims who'd been weeks on the road.
Museo Catedral de Santiago
Located within the cathedral complex, it includes Gelmírez Palace, the Renaissance cloister, the crypt under the Pórtico de la Gloria, and exhibition rooms displaying tapestries (with designs by Goya and Teniers), liturgical silverware, Library (with the Botafumeiro censer), the Chapterhouse, and the continuous balcony with views of the plaza and old town streets.
Museo Casa da Troia
Historic reconstruction of a late 19th-century student boarding house, immortalized in Alejandro Pérez Lugín's famous novel «La Casa de la Troya».
Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea
Designed by Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza, this space features temporary exhibitions of contemporary Galician and international art.