The small and beautiful Romanesque church in Bembrive presides this parish of Vigo since the 12th century and is one of the most significant examples of religious architecture in Vigo.
This Romanesque church in Vigo was probably constructed over an ancient monastic temple, since the name of the church’s neighbourhood is Mosteiro (Monastery).
The single nave church's tympanum holds a beautiful Celtic cross. There are also other Celtic symbols inside (spirals and circles), so historians believe that before this Romanesque church stood another Celtic temple of Early Christian origin. Its beautiful apse is decorated with vegetable and anthropomorphic motifs.
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.