The Romanesque shrine of San Alberto is said to be the most ancient temple of Riveira, supposedly built in the 12th century to Christianise the Celtic hill fort where this shrine is placed. The shrine preserves two original arches, different columns with capitals and a large window belonging to the most ancient Romanesque style. It is placed at the parish of Artes, over San Alberto Mount; apart from the Romanesque treasure, the shrine, San Alberto Mount has a remarkable complex of ancient funeral monuments called “mámoas” and a viewpoint over the Arousa Estuary. The shrine honours San Alberto, a saint famous in Riveira for acting as an interceding matchmaker with those women longing for a good husband. These women went to the shrine and sang an old popular ballad: “San Albertiño querido/ non che veño pedir pan/ véñoche pedir un home/ que faga tremer o chan”. In contrast, sailors went to the shrine for very different reasons. Once at the shrine they usually climbed to the roof to position the tiles facing the point they wished the wind to blow from. Tradition says they used to get favourable winds to fish.
