The monastery of San Vicente do Pino is located on a hill below the town of Monforte de Lemos and is accompanied by a defence tower that forms part of an ancient inhabited hillfort. Due to a fire in the second half of the 11th century, its archives were lost and, with them, the documents that could have shed light on the origin of this monastic house.
As a result of this misfortune, and to compensate for the loss of documentation, in 1074 the counts of Galicia, Raymond of Burgundy (†1107) and his wife Urraca (1081-1126), formalized a document to confirm the possessions of the monastery. In 1104, the counts Froilán Díaz and Estefanía Sánchez founded, together with the abbot of Pino, the town that would later become known as Monforte, on land belonging to the monastery. From 1199, this town began to expand at the foot of San Vicente and the castle of the Counts of Lemos. The monastery had disagreements with the Counts of Lemos, the bishopric of Lugo, and the town of Monforte over the rights and privileges that the Benedictines sought to defend.
Despite the conflicts arising from the abbot's opposition, in 1496 the process of reforming the establishment began, and in 1509 it was integrated into the Congregation of San Benito el Real de Valladolid. At that time, it was completely rebuilt. The monastic community remained until its dissolution in 1835 due to the disentailment. Subsequently, the building was converted into a hospital, a function it served until 1919. In 1923, a community of monks from the Monastery of Samos returned to the site, occupying it until the late 20th century. Today, the space has been adapted as a hotel. No monastic structures from the medieval period remain, as the monastery was rebuilt in the 17th century. Of the present-day buildings, the church, now restored, and the cloister are noteworthy.
Coats of arms of the counts of Lemos
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Monforte de Lemos is located in the south of Lugo, between Ourense and Ponferrada