Monastery of San Salvador de Sobrado de Trives

The first striking feature is the Romanesque doorway, where the set of capitals and the lintel supported by two human figures stand out: a musician playing the viola and an acrobat holding his feet in his hands.

The only remaining part of the old vault is the chancel (presbytery), because it collapsed along with the north wall in 1872. The present-day wall and roof were restored in 1881.

The nave is separated from the presbytery by a semi-circular triumphal arch with a triple archivolt. The capitals are certainly the most remarkable components of the church, owing to their excellent design and distinctive iconographic elements.

The altars were built later in a different style from the church and belong to the priory period. The four founding saints of the order are particularly noteworthy for their quality. They are located on the first altarpiece on the right hand side, although the oldest image is the Pietà from the next altarpiece, known as the Chapel of Ánimas (Chapel of Souls).

The most complete is undoubtedly the high altar. Its conception and the harmony of its ensemble give it a special prominence. It has two prominent bodies in addition to the front of the table. The central body depicts the Transfiguration and the expository tabernacle, which predates the altarpiece. The images of St. James and St. Martin do not belong to the altar or to the altarpiece as a whole. Some important pieces of which few remain are: the processional cross dating from 1585, the rare piece of the pelican (expository tabernacle) and the two stone basins dating from the 1700s. The confessional pulpit on the left is from 1850 and the beautiful paintings on the vault of the high altar date from the same period.

There is another Romanesque doorway on the south wall with archivolts on columns topped with capitals with animal decoration. Four Romanesque windows, with columns and beautiful capitals, stand out between the buttresses. The apse represents a significant aspect of the architectural ensemble. On the outside, buttresses mark the connection between the straight and semi-circular sections on each side, and in this section, two columns section the drum, creating three spaces. The windows, with smooth semi-circular arches, are surrounded by mouldings with their corresponding columns topped by capitals decorated with vegetal and zoomorphic motifs. The atrium contains evidence of where the covered cloister once stood, with covered openings in the south wall and buttresses of the cloister. The stone cross in the centre bears an inscription that dates it back to 1603, and the free-standing defensive tower at one end was readapted as a belfry.