Discovery of a decorated funerary arch in Betanzos

During the restoration and the transfer of the retablo of San Pedro in 2022, an arcosolio decorated with volumes in stone and polychromy was left exposed in the Igrexa de Santa María do Azougue. It was discovered that it accommodates a burial decorated with a mural painting in the upper area, a set previously unknown in the church. This structure constitutes the only funerary arcosolio that preserves polychromy and mural paintings in the town of Betanzos.

The church was constructed between the second half of the 14th century and the first half of the 15th century over another much older temple from the Romanesque era. The building features a basilical plan with three naves and four sections, without vaulting, ending in a triple apse where the central one is wider than the others. The main chapel has a heptagonal outline, while the apse chapels are square; these three dependencies are the only ones covered with rib vaults.

The exterior stone portals show various themes. The north portal reproduces a scene where a soul is weighed on a balance in a praying attitude while a dead person receives a jet of boiling liquid from a monster. The entrance door is covered by a semi-circular arch decorated with arches like inverted palms, with orders of vegetal and geometric motifs. In the tympanum are two scenes, with a large rose window above.

The interior highlights the retablo of the main chapel. In the 15th century, a retablo was installed here, which was replaced in its frame by a new one in 1748. This frame holds the carvings of the original, representing the life of Christ in gilded and polychrome wood. The church also features four windows with side lights, along with more modern ones in the main chapel and a small one in the apse chapel.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons