Ermita de San Segundo

A small Romanesque chapel on the Adaja riverbank — the patron saint's resting place

The Ermita de San Segundo is a small Romanesque chapel on the right bank of the River Adaja, about a kilometre west of the city walls. It marks the supposed place where San Segundo — Ávila's patron saint — was martyred in the early centuries of Christianity, and where his relics were discovered in 1519 sealed inside a wall. The chapel dates from the 12th century and has an understated charm: small, dark, and peaceful, with carved capitals in the apse and a notable 16th-century alabaster sculpture of San Segundo himself, attributed to Juan de Juni, one of the great sculptors of Renaissance Castile.

The walk from the main walls to the chapel along the river takes about 15 minutes and passes through a stretch of riverside parkland that gives good views back to the walls from the west bank. The chapel is generally open in the mornings and for the evening paseo. Combined with the Cuatro Postes viewpoint a short distance away, it makes a good short excursion from the walled centre.

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A story
San Segundo is the patron saint of Ávila, traditionally identified as one of the seven apostolic disciples sent by Saint Paul and Saint Peter to evangelize the Iberian Peninsula in the 1st century AD. His relics were discovered in 1519 in a sealed chamber inside this chapel. The discovery set off an extended dispute between the Church and the City Council over who held guardianship of the saint, which was only resolved when the bishop agreed to store the relics in the cathedral while the chapel remained under civic authority.

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