The Church of San Pedro de Ansemil is an outstanding temple of early medieval origin, linked to an ancient monastery inhabited by Benedictine nuns between the 9th and 10th centuries. The building reflects its monastic past and combines two distinct construction phases: a Romanesque chapel and an adjoining Gothic one, integrated within the same complex. The main body of the church preserves a basilican structure with three naves and three apses, separated by semicircular and stilted arches resting on paired columns, while the central nave is covered with a barrel vault and opens onto the presbytery through a triumphal arch supported by engaged columns.
The Romanesque section is arranged in three naves with differentiated bays, the central one being wider, separated by rectangular piers. The chevet is composed of a single rectangular chapel, while the western façade stands out for its doorway with a double toric archivolt, chequered hood moulding and plain tympanum. The capitals display rich sculptural decoration, including vegetal motifs, lions and human figures of almost fantastic appearance, revealing the high sculptural quality achieved at the time of its construction.
The Gothic chapel, dedicated to Saint Anne and known as the seigneurial chapel of the Deza family, houses the sarcophagus of Don Diego Gómez de Deza, dated 1341. Attached to the south wall of the Romanesque church, it has a single nave and a rectangular doorway with a pentagonal lintel, decorated with an Agnus Dei between the sun and the moon. Above the entrance is the image of the Virgin of the Milk, seated on a trilobed ogival throne beneath a canopy. The chapel also preserves varied corbels and medieval ironwork on the doors, including details such as serpent mouths on the metal leaves, elements that add singularity and historical value to the ensemble. The superimposition of different construction periods and the richness of its sculpture make San Pedro de Ansemil one of the most singular examples of Galician medieval heritage, where more than a thousand years of history can be read in the stone of a single temple.
