Ginzo de Limia

The Limia plain was watched over by a network of fortifications near the Portuguese frontier. Within the country of Ginzo, today Xinzo de Limia, the Torre da Pena occupied a hill from which much of the surrounding plain could be seen. Its thick-walled square tower had three vaulted floors, combining defensive strength with residential space.

The duke of Lancaster captured it in 1386. Inheritance later carried it from the Viedma family to the house of Monterrei, and marriage brought it into the possession of Lemos. Monterrei and Lemos then disputed ownership in a prolonged legal struggle. By the eighteenth century the fortress had been joined to Xinzo's estate administration and abandoned. Its changing fortunes reveal a frontier stronghold passing from military rivalry into the property claims of noble houses.