San Justo
Typical Sanabria architecture

San Justo is located in the region of Sanabria, 120 kilometres from Zamora and 14 kilometres from Puebla de Sanabria.

San Justo is characterised by its longer and colder winters, given its location in the mountains.

Its houses maintain the popular architecture of the area, very well preserved nowadays in its constructions.

We can visit the Ermita de la Alcobilla, which is located in a very beautiful natural environment, surrounded by centenary and millenary chestnut trees.

It is a sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of Alcobilla, where one of the most popular pilgrimages in Sanabria is held in her honour on 8 and 9 September.

Set on a quadrangular esplanade surrounded by a low masonry wall, the current sanctuary was erected in the second third of the 16th century, possibly on top of an earlier hermitage.

The church has a basilica floor plan, with three naves, the central one being distinguished in height. The interior space is covered by barrel vaults supported by arches and pierced by simple ribs.

Above the chapel is a dome with rectilinear ribs and mural paintings from the same period.

At the foot of the central nave rises a tower crowned by a baroque belfry built in the 18th century.

The sacristy is attached to the presbytery. In the presbytery there are several images from the 17th and 18th centuries, the most important of which is that of the Virgin and Child.

Like many other sanctuaries, the shrine of La Alcobilla is associated with archaeological remains from the Roman and pre-Roman periods that seem to indicate a continuity of worship and doubling since the beginning of the Christian era.

The spring of the sanctuary's fountain is popularly attributed to a miracle of the Virgin.