A EsculqueiraChurch of Santa Eufemia
A Esculqueira is a village in A Mezquita bordering Portugal. Its name derives from the Galician verb esculcar (to stalk), synonymous with to watch, to watch in the distance. Since ancient times, guerrillas and armies have always carried with them esculcas, watchmen on the lookout.
The church of Santa Eufemia de A Esculqueira is a modest church built in 1808. It has a single nave presided over by a higher presbytery, protected by a hipped roof. The jewel of the church is a fabulous baroque altarpiece attributed to the sculptor Xosé Ferreiro. It features the image of the titular saint, as well as the heads of four angels located at the base of the Corinthian columns that vertically organise the whole.
Xosé Ferreiro
The Galician sculptor Xosé Ferreiro (Noia, 1738-Hermisende, 1830) was a disciple of José Gambino, with whom he worked on various works: in the Mosteiro de Sobrado, on the medallion representing the Battle of Clavijo located in the Pazo de Raxoi, etc. Ferreiro also carved several sculptures for the church of the monastery of San Martiño Pinario, for the convent of San Francisco, and the sculptural group of the goddess Minerva in the old Science Faculty of the University of Santiago.
In the Mezquita he executed the altars of Christ and Santa Bárbara in the church of Santa María de A Vilavella and the main altarpieces of San Martiño da Mezquita, Santiago de Chaguazoso and Santa Eufemia de A Esculqueira.
