The Tambo Island is an island in the middle of the Pontevedra bay, in Spain. It belongs to the municipality of

Poio Poio is a municipality in Galicia, Spain in the province of Pontevedra. Poio is located in the North shore of the Ría de Pontevedra, between Sanxenxo and the provincial capital, Pontevedra. The municipality is adjacent with Meaño, Meis, Ponteve ...

, from which it is separated by a 1.1 km long but shallow channel. Its surface area is 0.28 km², with a maximum height of 80 m, although its entire central part is over 50 metres high. Its perimeter reaches 4 km.

History

Among the various prehistoric remains on the island is a

castro Castro is a Romance language word that originally derived from Latin ''castrum'', a pre-Roman military camp or fortification (cf: Greek: ''kastron''; Proto-Celtic:''*Kassrik;'' br, kaer, *kastro). The English-language equivalent is '' chester''. ...

, which occupies the entire central part of the island and is listed by the General Direction of Heritage with the code GA36041043. A chapel was built in the 6th century, founded by Martín de Dumio.

Fructuosus of Braga Fructuosus of Braga was the Bishop of Dumio and Archbishop of Braga, a great founder of monasteries, who died on 16 April 665. He was the son of a Visigothic '' dux'' in the region of Bierzo and at a young age accompanied his father on official ...

turned it into a monastery, linked to the convent of San Juan de Poyo. It later became a

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

, under the patronage of Santa María de Gracia. In the 12th century, the island of Tambo belonged to

Queen Urraca Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

and was donated to the convent of San Juan de Poyo. The inhabitants of Combarro used the island for centuries, where they worked their lands and celebrated pilgrimages. In 1589 the chapel was plundered by the corsair Francis Drake, who threw the figure of Santa María de Gracia into the sea. In 1846, with the

Spanish confiscation The Spanish confiscation was the Spanish government's seizure and sale of property, including from the Catholic Church, from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. It was a long historical, economic, and social process beginning with ...

it ceased to belong to the monks of Poyo and years later it was bought by the Minister of Justice, Eugenio Montero Ríos. In the same century, a

lazaretto A lazaretto or lazaret (from it, lazzaretto a diminutive form of the Italian word for beggar cf. lazzaro) is a quarantine station for maritime travellers. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings ...

was built on the island, which between 1865 and 1879 was used to

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

sailors arriving at the port of Marín-Pontevedra. Due to protests from the citizens of

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the '' Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality wh ...

, the infirmary was moved to the island of San Simón, in the Vigo estuary, and in 1889 the island became a military penitentiary. With the creation of the Marín Naval Military School in 1943, the island was militarised and came to be used as an arsenal. It was in that year that the heirs of Montero Ríos sold the island to the Navy. Until 2005, the heirs continued to be listed as owners of one fifth of the island. The Navy ceased to classify the island as a strategic enclave in 2002, which raised expectations that it could be ceded to the

Xunta de Galicia The Xunta de Galicia (; "Regional Government of Galicia") is the collective decision-making body of the government of the autonomous community of Galicia, composed of the President, the Vice-President(s) and the specialized ministers (''Consell ...

and incorporated into the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park, for which it would first have to be declared a natural park. However, the island remains under military jurisdiction. On 14 April 2013, a group of Combarro residents made a symbolic declaration of independence of the island as an act of protest against the state of neglect it suffered after

demilitarisation Demilitarisation or demilitarization may mean the reduction of state armed forces; it is the opposite of militarisation in many respects. For instance, the demilitarisation of Northern Ireland entailed the reduction of British security and militar ...

. In October 2018, after a period of closure of the island that lasted two years, the Naval School began again to allow organised visits to the island. The island is no longer a military enclave since 1 March 2022, which opens it to the civilian population.

Description

The island has a surface area of 28 hectares and reaches an altitude of 80 metres on Mount San Facundo. It is oval and has a typical pyramidal shape, completely covered with trees, especially eucalyptus. On its southern side there is a small peninsula (on which there is an old lighthouse) which gives it its characteristic shape. There is a former naval

ammunition dump An ammunition dump, ammunition supply point (ASP), ammunition handling area (AHA) or ammunition depot is a military storage facility for live ammunition and explosives. The storage of live ammunition and explosives is inherently hazardous. The ...

, a chapel and a former lazaretto on the island. There are no inhabited buildings. The island has two beaches that are only accessible by private boat. At the north-eastern end of the island is ''Area da Illa'', the largest and most popular beach. The other, smaller beach is ''Adreira''. It is located on the eastern side of the island. It is a sheltered cove of white sand, bordered by rocks and a lush pine forest. The island can be seen from a large part of the Paseo Marítimo de Pontevedra, the seafront promenade of the city of Pontevedra.

History

Description

Gallery

References

See also

Bibliography

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