This new church of St. Bartholomew is a large, solemn building and one of the few existing examples in
Galicia of
Italian Baroque architecture, which is very different from the Galician Baroque. With this church, the so-called
International Baroque was introduced to Galicia. The church has a
Latin cross shape and is set in a rectangle. It consists of three naves with three sections and a
transept with a main chapel between two
sacristies. It is reminiscent of Italian churches dedicated to the 'Name of Jesus' such as the
Church of the Gesù in Ferrara, the Gesù in
Lecce or the
Church of the Gesuiti in Venice, among others. The side naves are covered with
cross vaults in sections and the main
nave with a
barrel vault. The
dome stands on
Pendentives. Inside, there are important sculptures from the
Valladolid school, such as the Penitent Magdalene, from the Baroque school of
Santiago de Compostela (by Silveira and Gambino) and sculptures by
Pedro de Mena. In an
altar inside the church there is a statue of the Virgen de la O (
Pregnant Virgin),
patron saint of the city of Pontevedra. On its façade, the six large
Doric columns, the
bell towers and the upper
pediment are characteristic of Jesuit Baroque. There is also the
coat of arms of the Pimentel family, on the upper part of the school's entrance door a large stone coat of arms of Spain and in the centre, a sculpture of the Virgin Mary in a
niche. == Gallery ==