The Church of San Pedro de Vilanova, located in the municipality of Dozón, is the only surviving vestige of the former monastery that once gave origin to this site. Accessed via a stone-paved path, the church allows visitors to appreciate the monumentality of the building while evoking the historical importance of the now-vanished monastic complex, whose stones were later reused in nearby constructions. This context enhances the heritage value of the place and highlights its connection to the medieval past of the region.
The monastery was founded in 1154 by Guntroda Suárez, a feudal lady who promoted the creation of a female Benedictine convent. During the Middle Ages the institution gained considerable importance, exercising jurisdiction over the territory as a Royal Domain (Coto Real) until the late 15th century, when it became dependent on the Monastery of San Paio de Antealtares in Santiago de Compostela. After the abandonment of the monastery and the disappearance of the monastic complex in the 19th century, the church remained as the main testimony of that religious community.
From an architectural perspective, the building is a representative example of late Romanesque architecture from the 12th and 13th centuries. It consists of a single nave with a semicircular apse and pointed-arch portals that announce the transition toward the Gothic style, together with rich sculptural decoration in capitals, corbels and windows. Inside, the austerity of the nave and the elevated presbytery stand out, while one of the most distinctive features is its Romanesque bell tower, unusually located on the north side of the church.
Overall, the Church of San Pedro de Vilanova represents a site of great historical and artistic interest, where the memory of the medieval monastic community and the Romanesque architecture of inland Galicia come together.
