Monastery of San Xulián de Samos

King Fruela I of Asturias († 768) granted the site of Samos to Abbot Argerico and his sister Sarra, refugees from an unknown location in the Iberian Peninsula, with the intention of restoring the monastery. This donation was confirmed in 811 by King Alfonso II. At that time, the monastery may have functioned as a double monastery. In 785, Samos participated in the founding of the monastery of San Esteban de Calvor (Sarria, Lugo). In the mid-9th century, King Ramiro I donated the monastery to Abbot and Bishop Fatalis, a grant ratified by Ordoño I in 853. Despite successive donations and documented confirmations, by 922, the monastery had lost much of its vitality: observance had declined, and part of the community had dispersed. That same year, King Ordoño II (c. 872–924) entrusted Abbot Santa María de Penamaior with restoring the monastery, accompanied by an economic endowment.

In the second half of the 16th century, a new Gothic cloister was built to replace the earlier Romanesque one. Construction work continued over the following decades, including the building of a second cloister, begun at the end of the 17th century. One of the most notable figures associated with the monastery was the writer and monk Benito Feijoo. Compared to other monasteries, Samos was not severely affected by the Peninsular War, although it did serve as a military hospital.

Among the most notable structures are the chapel of San Salvador, or del Ciprés, a pre-Romanesque building linked to the monastery’s earliest period. The other buildings date from the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as the restorations following the last fire. The monastery features two cloisters: one from the 16th century and the other from the 17th century.