Chapel of the Shells

A Illa da Toxa was famous for its medicinal and thermal waters since time immemorial. Despite being surrounded by salt water on all sides, since it is an island, its lands emanate fresh waters with unparalleled properties. The pre-Roman indigenous peoples already knew the properties of their muds and already called it with a derivative of a pre-Indo-European pseudonym that led to "A Toxa" (muddy place). Legend has it that a neighbor had a donkey that he loved very much but he was very sick and because he did not sacrifice him he took him to the island and abandoned him to his fate. But the neighbor returned some time later and far from finding the corpse of the beloved donkey, he found a healthy animal and romping in the miraculous mud. This is how they discovered, according to legend, the healthy springs of A Illa da Toxa. In Spanish "la Toja" is used, a place name that today gives its name to a cosmetics brand whose origin was on the island itself. However, it was not until the 19th century that the true properties of these muds began to be assessed. For this purpose, the bridge that we see today was built in this century and the island went from being a farm for pasture for cattle to a large luxury private complex; urbanizations, golf, shopping center, spas, tennis courts, shooting, casinos, ...

However, the island does not stand out precisely for its natural landscaping, but for being a thermal and luxury center. If what we want is to see the true beauty of O Grove, we should know better its beautiful beaches of fine sand, its fishing villages with unique corners, its viewpoints from which you can see the Galician coast, its beautiful walks by the sea and the rocks, its prized popular gastronomy, its great parties and pilgrimages ... in short, things that we will hardly find inside the island. Already in the XII century there was a hermitage on the island that was only accessed by boat. Centuries later the church was modified, enlarged and completely covered with scallop shells, creating a unique and characteristic temple in Galicia, although it is not the only facade in Galicia covered in this way, since the scallop was a great insulator of marine moisture and for that reason it was often used in the houses closest to the sea. In A Toxa Chapel there is devotion to the Virgin del Carmen, patron saint of the sailors, and also to Saint Caralampio.
The current hermitage dates back to the 19th century and was called the Hermitage of San Sebastián.
The hermitage is vulgarly known as the Chapel of the Shells.




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