The former Leprosería de San Lázaro (Rúa de Ceuta, 59) of Santiago de Compostela was founded in 1149 by the bourgeois Alfonso Anaya and his wife Adosinda Menéndez, together with Canon Pedro Pardo and the Prior of Sar, D. Pedro, to take care for leprous canons from Santa María de Sar.1
The complex, located on the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela along the French Way, was composed of the hospital, a cemetery, and a chapel. Men were treated at this leprosarium, while women were cared for at the one in Santa Marta.
In 2000, during the construction of a building for the Consellería de Medio Ambiente e Ordenación do Territorio, archaeological remains of the old hospital and its chapel were uncovered2. Around the chapel, remains of wooden huts with floors excavated directly into the rock were found, which likely served as living spaces for the patients. Medieval ceramic pieces were also discovered, indicating the presence of wells that provided water to the hospital.
The original church was demolished in 1924 and replaced by the current Capela de San Lázaro, located across the street. Excavations revealed that the old Romanesque chapel had a rectangular plan and included an adjoining sacristy. Both the interior of the nave and its exterior were occupied by tombs belonging to the hospital’s associated necropolis.
Archaeologists also found a quadrangular building with a pool inside, made of slate slabs. This pool was used as part of leprosy treatments, which included better nutrition and bathing in healing springs.
The last building used for leprosy treatment at San Lázaro was built at the end of the 19th century and remained in use until 19663. Today, it houses the Dirección Xeral de Montes of the Government of Galicia (as shown in the picture below).
- Photos and main text by Sabela Nóvoa Gómez moc.liamg|im9211ebas#| (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 (1-8)
- Couselo Bouzas, J. (1928). El hospital de San Lázaro, de Santiago. Boletín de la Real Academia Gallega, nº 207-208, 57-62