Located in the town of Muxía. it is one of the two goals of the Finisterre-Muxía Way. on the Galician coast. The legend of the apparition of the Virgin to the apostle Santiago in a remote and isolated place known as Punta Xaviña (Muxía). brings together Jacobean and Marian devotion. Legend and tradition tell us of a Santiago tired of preaching in vain. both in Hispania and in the lands of Finisterre themselves. where the pagans had preferred to follow their pagan and pantheistic cults in Duio—a legendary city. cited in the Jacobean tradition of the inventio—so the Apostle prayed that the city would remain forever under the waters. Devastated. the saint reached the coast of Punta Xaviña when he noticed a boat approaching by sea. In it came the Virgin. who consoled and encouraged him. while announcing that it was necessary for him to return to Jerusalem. since his mission in Hispania was already completed and the seed sown. It is said that the Virgin left the Apostle an image of her that he placed on a small altar next to the rocks. The boat of the Virgin remained there forever and since then is known as Pedra de Abalar. Other great stones of the boat are also preserved: the great sail—Pedra dos Cadrís—and even the tiller. In the lonely place of A Barca. at the foot of Mount Corpiño. several temples have been built one after the other. Possibly the first ones would be little more than small hermitages since the present one was initiated in 1716. The work. undertaken by the Count of Frigilana y Aguilar and his wife Alfonsa de Castro. was continued by his daughter. Teresa Rivadeneira. wife of the Count of Maceda. At their death. the counts were buried at the main altar. The towers of the main façade of the sanctuary were not built in the great work of the 18th century. they were finished in 1958 thanks to the impulse and financial help of a Muxian emigrant in America. Romualdo Bentín. The floor plan of the temple is Latin cross and its interior. very austere. has an interesting Baroque altarpiece. the work of Miguel de Romay. Divided into three vertical bodies. the central body is presided over by the Virgin and the sides show. half body. the apostles. placed vertically. On one side of the temple is the altarpiece of a previous construction. presided over by Saint Michael and with a multitude of Jacobean symbols such as scallop shells. pumpkins and staffs. There is also a curious votive offering. possibly carried out in 1724 by Domingo Antonio de Uzal. in which the donor. Gonzalo de Manuel Lanzós. appears replacing the Apostle himself before the Virgin. kneeling in a prayerful attitude. The sculpture of the Virgin. of small dimensions. is of Gothic style and is polychrome. It is located inside a niche and shows all the attributes of the apparition to Santiago: Mary. in the centre of the nave. is supported by an angel while two others row and the Apostle prostrates himself at the feet of the Virgin. Santiago appears as a pilgrim. wearing a tunic. mantle and a short cloak adorned with scallop shells.