SPAIN: Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela, the capital of
north-west Galicia province in Spain, was founded following the discovery of
the remains of St James the Apostle in the 9th century. Dominating the `old
town` is the great 11th century cathedral built of granite in French
Romanesque style, infused with Baroque. The world`s biggest Botafumeiro
censer, weighing 80kg when filled with charcoal and incense, is brought out
on feast days and attached by ropes to a pulley mechanism, requires four
priests to operate. Tradition says that the use of a swinging censer began
in order to perfume the basilica when it was filled with tired and unwashed
pilgrims. By the Middle Ages, El Camino de Santiago – St James Way – had
become an important pilgrim route, and a cross pollination point for
different European cultures. Today, thousands of genuine pilgrims, as well
as tourists, travel the route, on foot carrying the traditional staff, by
horseback, and bicycle. Depending on your starting point, and for most it is
Roncevalles, in the Pyrenees, walking the 800 km route passing through
Navarra, Rioja and Castilla y Leon, takes around one month. Different types
of accommodation are available in monasteries, seminaries and village
guest-houses along the way. Good pilgrims are considered those who have
walked a solid stretch of at least 100km of the final part of the Way, and
who had their pilgrim records stamped. Santiago de Compostela was proclaimed
the first European Cultural itinerary by the Council of Europe in 1987, and
remains a testimony to the power of the Christian faith, among people of all
social classes, from all over the world.