The O Castro site is Vigo’s archaeological site par excellence: this was the origin of what is now the largest city in Galicia, between the second century BC and the third century AD. When you step on the stones of this museum site, the O Castro de Vigo. A Orixe da cidade, you’ll discover where the first inhabitants of Vigo lived.
The Castro is a 1 mile² archaeological site that includes the reconstruction of three castreño buildings pertaining to one of the largest and most evolved towns in Galicia. This small part of the Vigo oppidum shows us how people lived in castros 2,000 years ago.
The archaeological site is located on the slopes of O Castro Mountain, right in the centre of Vigo. Take the opportunity to explore its nature trails and climb to the top, where you’ll see the remains of the old walled city and enjoy the splendour of the Vigo estuary from the O Castro viewpoint.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.