| Pico Sacro | |
| Elevation M: | 530 |
| Elevation Ref: | [1] |
| Location: | Galicia, Spain |
| Range: | Galician Massif |
| Map: | Spain |
| Easiest Route: | hike |
Pico Sacro ("Holy Peak" in Galician) is a summit in the central Galician Massif and the municipality of Boqueixón. In antiquity it was known as Mount Ilicino, and features a hermitage, a cave, the remains of a medieval castle and a triangulation station. The mountain rises and is known for its unique shape and a legend about the Apostle James. A deep and narrow cave sits just below the peak, and legend places a dragon there protecting one of the entrances to hell.
In Galician mythology, Queen Lupa sent the disciples of the Apostle James, Theodore and Athanasius, to Pico Sacro to collect her oxen to help build a tomb for the apostle. Lupa did not tell them that there was a cave with an entrance to Hell, and that a dragon lived there.[2] The faith of the disciples protected them from the dragon and tamed the oxen.[3]
The Camino Sanabrés, a branch of the Way of Saint James, passes by the foot of the mountain originating in Granja de Moreruela.[4] The crest of the mountain is divided by a deep trench known as the "Rúa da Raíña Lupa" (English: Queen Lupa's path). The origin of the NaNm (-2,147,483,648feet) gap is unknown; it may be a natural fissure, or the result of mining performed by the Romans or the Moors. Fanciful tales attribute the cut to Queen Lupa or the sword of a Titan.[5] Historian hypothesized that the trench could have been used as a moat for the castle on the summit.[5]
The Benedictine Monastery of San Sebastián was built below the mountain's peak at the beginning of the 10th century by Sisnando I, bishop of Iria Flavia. The monastery was later dismantled by Archbishop Alonso de Fonseca to build a castle.
The was built in the Early Middle Ages near the top of the mountain, replacing a small chapel near the Monastery of San Sebastián. In the 15th century this fortress was destroyed during the Irmandiño revolts, but was later rebuilt by Archbishop Alonso de Fonseca to defend against the House of Altamira.[6] [7]
When an epidemic of Saint Anthony's fire was raging in Galicia, those afflicted would to go to the mountain and, after making an offering of bread at the summit, pray the following prayer:[8]
Holy Peak, Holy Peak,
consecrated by the blessed Saint James,
deliver me from this angry fire,
through the intercession of the Virgin Mary,
and Our Father and a Hail Mary.
Or, simply: "Sacred Peak, Sacred Peak, heal me from the malady that consumes me.[9]
The academic Vicente Risco believes that this prayer dates from the 13th century, and notes that it is not addressed to any saint, but to the mountain itself as if it could hear and heal the person making the prayer.