The Antigo Hospital de San Roque (Old Hospital of Saint Roch), together with its adjoining church, is located in Santiago de Compostela at Rúa de San Roque, 2. It was founded in 1587 by the archbishop Francisco Blanco to care for patients suffering from the bubonic plague that affected Galicia and the city of Santiago throughout the 16th century. Shortly afterwards, the hospital became dedicated exclusively to the treatment of syphilis1. It was placed under the protection of Saint Roch, a saint widely invoked as a protector against contagious diseases.
Some images from 2026
The design of the building was commissioned from Gaspar de Arce, Master Builder of the Cathedral of Santiago. The construction was completed in 1583. From the original design only the main doorway has been preserved, as the building was rebuilt in the second half of the 18th century. This reconstruction was recorded in an inscription located inside the cloister, which states:
“SE REEDIFICÓ CON EL LEGADO QUE DEJÓ EL S.D FRANCISCO RIAL, DEL COMERCIO DE VILLAGARCÍA, SIENDO ADMINISTRADOR EL DR.D.GONZALO BECERRA Y LLAMAS, CANÓNIGO DE ESTA S.A.M.I”
“It was rebuilt with the legacy left by Don Francisco Rial, a merchant from Villagarcía, while the administrator was Dr. Don Gonzalo Becerra y Llamas, canon of this Holy Apostolic Metropolitan Church.”
The building has a rectangular floor plan organized around a cloister with two levels of galleries.
The main portal is decorated with figures of saints Cosmas and Damian and also displays the coat of arms of Archbishop Francisco Blanco.
Today, the building houses several institutions, including the Instituto Padre Sarmiento de Estudios Gallegos, the Secretaría Xeral de Política Lingüística, and the Centro Ramón Piñeiro para a Investigación en Humanidades.
Some images from 2019
Linked to the hospital, there is the baroque Church of San Roque, which also has a rectangular ground plan. It houses one of Simón Rodríguez’s most important altarpieces2.
- Photos by Vittoradolfo Tambone (August 2019); photos and main text by Sabela Nóvoa Gómez moc.liamg|im9211ebas#| (January 2026)
- Locate the item on this Google Map
Related items:
Bibliography
- Carro Otero, X. (1998). Materiais para unha historia da medicina galega. Tomo II. Consellería de Sanidade e Servicios Sociais (19-27)
- Folgar de la Calle, M.C. (2010). Cura de almas para la salud del cuerpo. Arquitectura y fe en torno al Hospital de San Roque de Santiago de Compostela. In N. Marinho Ferreira-Alves (Coord.), A Misericórdia de Vila Real e as Misericórdias no Mundo de Expressão Portuguesa (pp. 353 – 374). CEPESE