Camino de Santiago de Compostela, el recorrido a pie más famoso del mundo

Il Camino de Santiago de Compostela es el camino a pie más transitado y famoso del mundo. En los últimos años, el número de peregrinos ha aumentado desmesuradamente, pasando de 2491 en 1985 a aproximadamente 215.000 peregrinos en 2013. Un recorrido histórico, de hecho, ya en la Edad Media muchos caminantes emprendían este viaje para llegar al santuario de Santiago de Compostela, donde, todavía hoy, se encuentra la tumba del apóstol Santiago el Mayor.

Es difícil circunscribir el camino en un solo sendero; son múltiples, de hecho, las rutas que a lo largo de los años han llevado a los peregrinos a Santiago. Los recorridos más famosos son sin duda el Camino Francés y el Aragonés, pero también el Portugués es muy frecuentado. Precisamente los dos primeros, que involucran las rutas francesas y españolas, han sido declarados Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO.

The Pilgrimage of the Way of Saint James, the Beginnings

In the 9th century, news spread throughout Europe about the discovery of the apostle James in Galicia. From that moment on, a pilgrimage began to visit the tomb of the apostle.

Originally, the route had no fixed path, and the first pilgrims had to face passages along the Cantabrian Mountain Range when the plains were invaded by the Muslims. Gradually, a fixed route emerged, with choices made based on the safety of the place and bridges that avoided crossing rivers.

In particular, in the 11th century, thanks to the road and bridge improvements commissioned by Sancho the Great of Navarre and Alfonso VI of León, the pilgrimage firmly took hold. Several countries began mapping the routes to Santiago, which converged at Ostabat and entered Spain from Roncesvalles.

The Roads of Santiago de Compostela

Although many attribute the sea routes (Ruta de la Costa) as the historic roads to Santiago de Compostela, because of the sailors’ word of mouth about the discovery of the tomb of the apostle Santiago, pilgrims today prefer the land routes to Santiago.

The shell is the symbol of the pilgrims heading to Santiago de Compostela. The road from Roncesvalles to Estella is called the “French Way” while the one crossing the Pyrenees at Somport is called the Aragonese Way.

The French Way of Santiago de Compostela

The French Way for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela is undoubtedly the best-known section of the route. It stretches for 750 kilometers, from Roncesvalles to Santiago. Aymeric Picaud, a French cleric, wrote the first pilgrimage guide to the route in 1130, dividing it into thirteen stages. The two most frequented passes in the Pyrenees are Roncesvalles and Somport.

Stages of the Santiago walk

(source percorsiditerre):

The Aragonese Way of Santiago de Compostela

The Aragonese Way, via Toulouse, is a variant of the French Way. Widely used by pilgrims coming from Italy, it goes up the Aspe valley then arrives at Somport in the Pyrenees. The route unfolds over 6 stages, covering a total of about 160 kilometers.

The main routes leading to Santiago de Compostela

The Via Francigena, Italy

In Italy, the road to Santiago de Compostela is the Via Francigena. The Via Francigena connects Italy to the French route and, through this itinerary, it is possible to travel the Coastal Way starting from Rome to reach Compostela. Depending on the chosen path, the complete journey is approximately 800 km, which can be covered in a month. However, it is not uncommon for people to decide to walk just one week, choosing, for example, to do only the Spanish section, starting from the gathering point of all travelers: Puente la Reina.

Puente la Reina, the pilgrims’ meeting point

Whatever route is chosen, it is at Puente la Reina that pilgrims converge before facing the last stages. From this point onward, the path becomes “common”. The following stages are:

• Estella
• Nájera
• Burgos
• Frómista
• Sahagún
• León
• Rabanal del Camino
• Villafranca del Bierzo
• Triacastela
• Sarria
• Portomarín
• Palas de Rei
• Arzúa
• Santiago de Compostela.

Upon arriving at Finisterre on the Ocean (after Santiago), tradition holds that all pilgrims burn their clothes and take a dip in the ocean for a purifying bath.