Santiago de Compostela No. 11 / Corticela

Although the Igrexa da Corticela itself goes back to the 9th century, the present baptismal font dates probably from the 15th or 16th century, when the former oratory chapel served as a parish church for foreigners and pilgrims; it consists of a round basin decorated with mouldings at the upper and lower ends, raised on a short round base decorated with tracery on the sides. The font cover is not the original, but it is notheless notable and rare, one of very few specimens of the 'swing-arm' type still in operation; a metal arm decorated with the scallop shell is attached to the round metal cover; the arm is pivoted on a metal post raised behind the font; at the front, a hasp fints onto a metal staple on the upper rim side and allows for a padlock to be fitted in. [NB: a somewhat similar example was still in use in a parish church in France ca. 2002; several varieties of crane arms are found in use on fonts of France and Belgium]. The side of the rim shows one of the older staples of the old cover still in place; one side of the basin, near the pivoted arm is unfinished, and suggests the font was originally against a corner.