The road to Santiago of Compostela information - Galicia tourism - Spain
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GALICIA Information - THE ROAD TO SANTIAGO |
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| Countless people have gone to Compostela
on pilgrimage, since Saint James's tomb was discovered in the early
9th century. In this way, they have made true the words which, according
to the "Calixtine Codex", the Apostle Saint James had said
in dreams to Charlemagne: "After you, all the peoples will go
on pilgrimage until the end of the centuries". The final destination
has not changed, nor have the motives for the journey, but the itinerary
has. While most of the Iberian Peninsula was controlled by the Moors, the Christian Kingdom's capital city was Oviedo, which became an obligatory stopping point for the pilgrims who followed the Caminos del Norte (Northern Roads). The oldest route entered Galicia through the Acebo pass and led to Lugo either through Puebla de Buron or Fonsagrada. The pass was joined here by the Abres route. Finally, other travellers came through Ribadeo and reached Sobrado Monastery after having passed through Lourenza, Mondoñedo, Vilalba, Baamonde, Parga and the lands of Friol. All of them led to the "Camino Prances" ("French Road") that brought them to Santiago. When the Reconquest allowed the capital to be moved down to Leon, the kings and the Benedictine friars made the pilgrimage along the "French Road" easier. This itinerary appears in the "Calixtine Codex", Book V of which has become the first guide. It speaks of O Cebreiro, which is famous due to a Eucharistical miracle that took place there and because its chalice appears on the Galician coat of arms. Triacastela is the end of the eleventh stage of the journey. Here the pilgrims took pieces of limestone which they would carry to Castaneda to be turned into lime. This would then be used for the building of Santiago Cathedral. After passing Samos Monastery -now the most important Benedictine monastery in Galicia- pilgrims proceeded through Barbadelo and crossed the River Mino in Portomarin. Here the church-fortress of Saint John, dating from about 1200, is one of the most accomplished of that time. Further ahead, pilgrims walked through Vilar de Donas, which belonged to the Knights of Santiago, and then through Palas de Rei, Melide, Arzua, Lavacolla and Santiago. There were other roads that brought pilgrims from the South. For instance, the Via de la Plata (Silver Way) crossed the lands of Ourense and the interior of the province of Pontevedra. Most Portuguese pilgrims came in through Tui. And pilgrims from English and other Atlantic ports landed in A Coruña. Nowadays, other roads are followed, like the road from Arousa, with special tourist values. Thus, even though not all are pilgrim routes, all roads do lead to Santiago. |
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