How to use the interactive map
There is a layers control in the upper right side of the map. It is opened or closed if you move the mouse over it 
It comprises two groups of layers. The first one displays the maps that visualize each stage of the monastic site evolution. A radio button precedes each of these layers 
The second group, separated by a grey line, is composed of the basemaps used to georeference the previous layers. A square button precedes each of these basemaps 
Layers of the first group are displayed in chronological order. None of them is shown by default.
If you move your mouse over the map, you can interact with it. You will see how some objects are highlighted. It means that they have annotated data, which is displayed in a pop-up when you click them.
To start your exploration of the map, click the radio button corresponding to "The Place" in the layers control 
The Place
The first step is to know the place where the monastery was built.
To take this decision, the existence of water and the solitude of the place were key factors for the first monastic communities. Water allowed monks to develop a self-sufficent life. The solitude of the place provided them with the needed silence and isolation.
The monastery of Samos was founded next to a river, called Samos or Sarria. It is in a sheltered valley at the foot of the high mountains that form the tableland of Lugo. Both features made this place the right one to develop a monastic life.
Interact with the map and discover more about the place where this monastery was founded
To continue your exploration of the map, click the radio button corresponding to "Pre-12th century" in the layers control
Pre-12th century
The monastery of San Julián de Samos was probably founded back in the second half of the 6th century (Arias Cuenllas, 1992: 25-32; Portilla Costa, 1984: 7-9; Portilla Costa, 1988: 31-33; Sá Bravo, 1972: 446-447). At that period, Saint Martin of Braga began to Christianize the Galician territory and founded twelve monasteries.
Moreover, the Ermefredo Bishop's gravestone confirms that the foundation of Samos took place at that time. Its inscription pointed that this bishop restored the fallen and finished what was started in the monastery of Samos (Castro, 1912: 139-140). The existence of Ermefredo Bishop is perfectly documented in the mid-7th century.
Today, only one building is extant from the High Middle Ages: the Chapel of the Cypress (Villaamil y Castro, 1903: 697-719; Núñez, 1978: 227-236; Portilla Costa, 2006: 83-107; Casal Chico, 2007: 249-261). It is placed near to the current monastery. Due to this fact, it is thought that the first monastery was located in the surrounding area in the late 9th or early 10th century.
In the 11th century, there was also a hospital in addition to the monastic guest house. The hospital was devoted to guests and pilgrims travelling on pilgrimage towards Santiago de Compostela (Lucas Álvarez, 1986: 90-93). The pilgrimage route, which was probably based on an ancient Roman road, was another remarkable feature of the monastic site in the High Middle Ages.
Interact with the map and discover more about the monastic site prior to the 12th century
To continue your exploration of the map, click the radio button corresponding to "From 12th to 15th century" in the layers control
From 12th to 15th century
Approximately between 1167 and 1228, a Romanesque church was built in Samos (Arias Cuenllas, 1992: 140, 160; Lucas Álvarez, 1986: 149-152; Yzquierdo Perrín, 2001: 59). It is supposed that there was also a cloister communicated directly with the church through an extant Romanesque portal. The cloister comprised all the rooms and spaces where a community of 40 monks lived (Arias Cuenllas, 1992: 142).
Therefore, in the Late Middle Ages, the monastic site at Samos consisted of the Chapel of the Cypress, the Romanesque church and the attached cloister. Besides, we know that there was another dettached monastic building, at least. We refer to the guest house.
From the second half of the 13th century onwards, the monastery began a period of gradual decline. Around 1419, a fire compelled the community to rebuild the medieval hospital. In 1491, it is known that the monastic buildings were dilapidated and only six monks lived in Samos (Arias Arias, 1950: 171-172; Arias Cuenllas, 1992: 191-192).
Interact with the map and discover more about the monastic site between the 12th and 15th centuries
To continue your exploration of the map, click the radio button corresponding to "First half of the 16th century" in the layers control
First half of the 16th century
San Julián de Samos was annexed to the Congregation of San Benito de Valladolid in 1505, within the reform process of religious orders undertaken by Catholic Kings in the Crown of Castile (Arias Cuenllas, 1992: 191). A group of the reforming monks had already arrived at Samos in 1491. From then on, they repaired the monastic buildings through several works in the cloister (dormitory, refectory, kitchen and chapter house) and in the church (Zaragoza Pascual, 2010: 66-69).
However, a ranging fire destroyed the archive and a large area of the monastery in 1534 (Castro, 1912: 118). The abbot decided to reform the damaged buildings. This way, he ensured the continuity of the monastic life for the twelve monks that lived in Samos at the period.
Now, if we look at the land nearby the monastery, we can see that there was already a small secular settlement in the first half of the 16th century. It was based on three points of growth or places, called A Aira, O Outeiro and O Fontao.
A Aira was the name of the inhabited area placed on the west bank of the river, where different roads converged: the one coming from San Martiño del Real (or the road to Triacastela) and the roads that connected Samos to the monastery, the village of Sarria and the places of Pascais and Manjar. O Outeiro and O Fontao were born on the east bank of the river with buildings linked to the main road.
Interact with the map and discover more about the monastic site in the first half of the 16th century
To continue your exploration of the map, click the radio button corresponding to "Second half of the 16th century" in the layers control
Second half of the 16th century
Under the orders of the Castilian monks, a ground floor of a new cloister was built in Samos between 1562 and 1582. It is known currently as the Gothic cloister or the cloister of the Nereids (Arias Cuenllas, 1992: 207-208, Castro, 1912: 118; Durán, 1947: 18; Zaragoza Pascual, 2001: 154-160). It was attached to the south wall of the Romanesque church to be connected directly to it. One fragment of the new cloister was built in a place already occupied by the medieval cloister. Therefore, the latter was partially demolished. The measures of the Gothic cloister were also influenced by the river, which was a clear natural boundary for the growth of the monastic buildings towards the southeast.
The new cloister was built to host individual cells for monks to replace the former medieval communal dormitory, as the Constitutions of the Congregation of San Benito de Valladolid demanded. Although only nineteen monks lived in Samos at that period, the new cloister was designed to host thirty-five.
In what refers to the nearby hamlet, there were five leaseholders living there in the mid-16th century: Alonso Gallina (scribe), Gonzalo Macía, Diego da Peral, Diego (tailor) and Álvaro Dosío (clergyman) along with their families. All of them lived in houses and farmed properties that belonged to the monastery, because they were placed inside their jurisdictional reserve. As a consequence, they paid a rent for their use to the monks. Only a few buildings of the hamlet were run directly by the religious community as it happened in the cases of the prison and the hospital.
Interact with the map and discover more about the monastic site in the second half of the 16th century
To continue your exploration of the map, click the radio button corresponding to "First half of the 17th century" in the layers control
First half of the 17th century
After building the ground floor of the new cloister, the monks worked on improving the church. They aimed to adapt the space to the rules that the Congregation of San Benito de Valladolid established in regards to the liturgy. They were also focused on solving the deterioration of its already old architecture.
It was built a new choir over the last bay of the church as well as a new main apse and a sacristy. Besides, they ordered new altarpieces, they finished the two towers of the main facade and they built a dome over the centre of the transept (Arias Arias, 1950: 195-210; Arias Cuenllas, 1992: 220-223; Castro, 1912: 116-117; Folgar de la Calle y Goy Diz, 2008; Pérez Constanti, 1930: 446-447).
Between 1633 and 1637, the monks built the first floor of the new cloister to host their individual cells (Arias Arias, 1950: 222; Arias Cuenllas, 1992: 223; Durán, 1947: 18; Folgar de la Calle, 2006: 212; Portilla Costa, 1988: 53). Nevertheless, the community had not grown yet and only the northeast and southeast sides were made. At the end of these works, the monastery kept this layout until the end of the 17th century.
In the nearby settlement, there was a higher number of rented properties at the time. In most cases, they were the result of dividing the former larger possessions. Moreover, new kind of workers lived there and this fact was likely to be in relation with monks' needs.
Interact with the map and discover more about the monastic site in the first half of the 17th century
To continue your exploration of the map, click the radio button corresponding to "Second half of the 17th century" in the layers control
Second half of the 17th century
The community at Samos continued to grow and reached fifty-two members in 1689 (Arias Arias, 1950: 235). As a result, they began a new phase of monastic enlargement through the building of: a new cloister –the one called Big Cloister or Cloister of the Brother Feijóo currently-, a new church, and some new spaces in the Gothic Cloister.
Between 1686 and 1701, it is known that almost three sides of the Big Cloister, with ground and first floors, were built (Zaragoza Pascual, 1980: 337-338). In the southeast side the new monastic gatehouse was placed. It was necessary to cross a stone bridge over the Samos River to arrive at this new entrance. At the same time, the monks graded the land in the northwest area for the new church. First, they built the ground floor probably used as a crypt. Then, they began to build the sacristy, the antechamber or “antesacristy”, and the main apse of the church. The works stopped at the transept around 1708.
It is also known that some works were made in the Gothic Cloister between 1693 and 1697, such as: the reform of the monks’ refectory through an addition, the building of a second refectory for servants, and a new monastic kitchen, detached and located towards the southwest (Arias Arias, 1950: 235; Arias Cuenllas, 1992: 225; Folgar de la Calle y Goy Diz, 2008: 138-139).
Besides, the village grew in this time period. Some new buildings were made in the places of O Fontao and A Aira, in the area nearby the Hospital, by the side of the road to Pascáis, and in Bargado. Although this urban development took place towards the south, in order to not affect the monks’ life, you can see that a fragment of the monastic wall already existed in 1660, on the east bank of the river. It defined a physical separation between the space of the village and the space of the monks placed around the monastery, known as the monastic precinct (el Cercado) some years later.
Interact with the map and discover more about the monastic site in the second half of the 17th century
To continue your exploration of the map, click the radio button corresponding to "First half of the 18th century" in the layers control
First half of the 18th century
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