The Church of San Martiño de Forcarei stands in the parish that functions as the municipal centre and constitutes one of the main architectural and symbolic landmarks of the town. The current church dates from the late 18th century and was built by the master stonemasons Pedro Varela and Pedro Gutiérrez during a period of growth and transformation of the town. Its presence stands out within the urban environment and reinforces the role of Forcarei as the administrative and social centre of the municipality.
The church has a Latin cross floor plan, although the right transept was enlarged in 1961 according to a project by the architect Javier García Santoro, adapting the building to new needs without substantially altering its original structure. The chancel is quadrangular, and the interior is covered with ribbed stone vaults, which give the building solidity and monumentality. The façade follows a neoclassical style, with a round-arched portal above which there is a niche containing an image of the Virgin, visually and devotionally emphasising the front of the church.
Crowning the façade rises a prominent bell tower, which emerges from a broken pediment and is organised in two sections: a lower quadrangular body and an upper octagonal section, topped with a small ribbed cupola that gives the building a slender silhouette. Completing the ensemble is the stone cross (cruceiro) located on the access staircase, a piece of great ethnographic and artistic interest, created in the late 19th century by Xosé Ferreiro, the same stonemason who carved the cruceiro in the field of the Aciveiro Monastery.
Today, the Church of San Martiño is a prominent landmark in the urban landscape of Forcarei, where architecture, history and tradition come together to offer visitors a clear view of the religious heritage of the region.
