According to Fidel Fita (1898) and Gómez Moreno (1919), the Church of San Miguel Arcángel, the only remaining vestige of the Monastery of San Miguel de la Escalada, was erected in the vicinity of an uninhabited castro, which would explain its location. Thanks to the excavations carried out by Hortensia Larrén and Luis Caballero at the end of the 20th century, the occupation of the site since the 4th-5th centuries was corroborated. The monastery received numerous privileges and exemptions by the monarchs Fernando I and Sancha (Utrero, 2022). Currently, the only thing that remains of the complex is the church, which has a basilica plan with three naves, transept and tripartite chancel (Martínez, 2002).
Bibliography
FITA, Fidel (1898): "San Miguel de Escalada. Documento apócrifo del siglo XII. Auténticos del XIII", nº 32, BRAH, pp. 25-64.
FITA, Fidel (1898): "San Miguel de Escalada. Inscripciones y documentos", nº 31, BRAH, pp. 466-515.
GÓMEZ-MORENO, Manuel (1919): Iglesias mozárabes. Arte español de los siglos siglos IX al XI, Centro de Estudios Históricos, Madrid.
UTRERO, María de los Ángeles y ÁLVAREZ, Enrique (eds.) (2022): El monasterio de San Miguel de Escalada (Léon) arquitectura y canteras a lo largo de su historia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, pp. 19-30.