The cathedral of Saint Mary of Tui has a double vocation of church and fortress. It was built in several phases between 1142 and 1225. and its structure shows an intense Gothic character superimposed on the initial Romanesque style. The chapel of Santiago stands out. presided over by an altarpiece made in 1696 and dedicated to the pilgrim apostle. the work of the local sculptor José Domínguez Bugarín. The transept is supported by transverse round arches banked that are repeated in the chapels at the chancel. allowing the capitals to provide a wealth of decoration with plant elements and with an important collection of the medieval bestiary: griffins. lions. harpies. sagitarians. monsters. amphisbaenas. etc. The narrative capitals also have a place. with one dedicated to the Nativity and Adoration of the Magi. with the curious representation of the Virgin in a bed next to the baby Jesus. The Chapter House. an important Romanesque example. dating from 1138. is considered the largest cathedral chapter house in Spain. It consists of an arcade of eight arches propped up in paired columns and a central entrance arch. It preserves part of the capitals. most of them broken because the room was adapted to other tasks from the 16th century onwards. when it fell into disuse. The visible capitals contain plant motifs and fighting rams and a mother wolf nursing her cub. The north doorway is in Romanesque style except for the upper part which was finished in the Gothic period. Despite the sobriety of its shapes. it has the originality of its decorative and structural solutions. A double arch covers the façade. with a triple archivolt. the first ones with a rope shape and the extrados with a chessboard layout. The mochetas that hold the tympanum represent a bear and a wolf. In the last quarter of the 12th century the cathedral of Tui was completed in Gothic style. mainly in its longitudinal nave and vaults. The closure of the complex. on its western façade. would provide the exceptional Gothic façade. considered the first Gothic sculptural work in the Iberian Peninsula. In addition to this singularity. there is also the originality of its arrangement. which makes it unique. The column-statues on the left show Moses. Isaiah. St. Peter and St. John the Baptist. while those on the right show Solomon. the Queen of Sheba. Jeremiah and Daniel. The tympanum develops the cycle of the Nativity; the lower register shows the Annunciation and the Birth. In the upper register is the interview of the Magi with Herod and the Adoration of the Magi. The façade was finished in 1225 when Bishop Esteban Egea consecrated the Cathedral. Another important Gothic element is its cloister. the only medieval preserved of all the Galician cathedrals. in addition due to its considerable dimensions. The cloister was built in the second half of the 13th century in the Cistercian Gothic style. It underwent an important renovation in 1408 due to the danger of ruin of the southern wall. At that time. several Gothic burials and the defensive tower of its southwestern corner were integrated. In 1424. the tower of San Andrés. funeral chapel of Bishop Juan Fernandes de Soutomaior II. was added to the north side of the cathedral. This tower is an example of the fortress character of the temple in Tui. Between 1482 and 1485. Bishop Diego de Muros added a large tower-palace to the south side and above the old chapel of Santa Catalina. an example of Galicia's scarce civil Gothic architecture. The cathedral underwent its last great medieval work at the end of the 15th century. The entire Romanesque chancel was reformed. transforming it into a triple and flat east wall that deepens the verticality and defensive function of the building. The lantern tower was rebuilt by Bishop Diego de Avellaneda in 1530. In this sixteenth century. the chapel of San Telmo provided the first own space for the Dominican saint whose remains are kept in this cathedral. The work was carried out by Bishop Diego de Torquemada in 1579. In 1732 the chapel was extended longitudinally to the east. forming an urban space at the back of the cathedral of great beauty. the Plaza de la Misericordia. In its interior stands out the altarpiece of the Expectation. the organ and the reliquary altar of the Chapel of Relics. both 18th century. In the main chapel is located the choir made in 1699.