Figures of Saints Cosmas and Damian

These figures of Saints Cosmas and Damian, patron saints of medicine, stand in the niches above the main entrance of the Antigo Hospital de San Roque in Santiago. They are possibly attributed to the sculptor Gregorio Español, who in 1604 was working alongside Juan Dávila on the altarpiece of the Chapel of San Roque, or to his workshop.¹

Both saints are depicted wearing bonnets that cover their heads and long tunics. On the left is Saint Damian, holding a urine flask used for uroscopy. Saint Cosmas, meanwhile, carries a medicine jar.²

• Photos and main text by Sabela Nóvoa Gómez (January 2026)

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Bibliography:

• Carro Otero, X. (1998). Materiais para unha historia da medicina galega. Tomo II. Consellería de Sanidade e Servicios Sociais (155-162)

• 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