Santiago de Compostella - Spain

Santiago de Compostella has always been a city I wanted to discover and for a number of reasons.  In addition to the fame and history linked with this religious sanctuary, a number of my friends who either partly or completed the famous “Walk” in recent years told me what an incredible experience this had been for them.  I also watched Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez’s film “The Way” and although I am not particularly religious and have not yet felt the urge to do the Walk myself, I felt the need to go there and see what this city was all about.  2016 was the year to do so.


Daniel Food and Wine Tours: A Street in the old part of Santiago

Santiago de Compostella, one of Spain’s major tourist attraction is the capital of Galicia in Northwestern Spain.  The number of pilgrims completing the Walk that leads to Santiago has been steadily rising over the years with millions of people from all over the world coming to this city every year; many of them reaching the legendary city by the Saint James pilgrimage route originated in the 9^th century.  Its historic centre has been designated a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1985.  This city is almost wholly devoted to the business of tourism.  Tourism however is certainly no newcomer to Santiago; in fact, it can lay claim to being the world’s first major tourist destination.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: Buildings near the Catheral

The legend of St James and Santiago de Compostella has it that the Apostle James the Greater came to Spain to convert the country to Christianity and preached for seven years before returning to Judaea, where he was martyred by Herod.  Forced to leave the country, his disciples smuggled St James’s body back to Spain and buried it in 813 near the spot where they were supposed to have first landed in Spain, near Santiago.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: Cathedral Square

It appears however that St James never came to Spain at all.  He was never a soldier and there is no reason why his body should have been brought to Galicia.  He died several centuries before Islam was conceived, probably never mounted a horse in his life, and certainly never slew an infidel.  There is therefore no historical reason why Santiago should be a place of pilgrimage, though it is.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours:  Santiago's Cathedral

The legend enabled the Catholic faithful to bolster support for their stronghold in northern Spain during the Christian crusades against the Moors, but also led to the growth and development of the city.  The 1,000-year-old pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint James is known in English as the “Way of Saint James” and in Spanish as the “Camino de Santiago”.  The Old Town is a lively place where inhabitants and business coexist with tourism.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours:  The Cathedral Maintenance Work

The area of Santiago de Compostella was a Roman cemetery by the 4th century.  During the 10th century and in the first years of the 11th century, Viking raiders tried to assault the town.  Bishop Sisenand II, who was killed in the battle against them in 968 ordered the construction of a walled fortress to protect the sacred place.  In 997 Compostella was assaulted and partially destroyed by the Moors.  In response to these challenges Bishop Cresconio, fortified the entire town in the mid-11th century, building walls and defensive towers.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: Another Side of Cathedral Square

By the middle of the 11th century, the site had already become a place of pilgrimage.  Santiago would become in the course of the following century a main Catholic shrine second only to Rome and Jerusalem.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: One of the Towers of the Cathedral

During the 14th century the pilgrimage began to decay, a fact brought by the wars, the epidemics and natural catastrophes.  At the end of the 16th century the Reformation in Europe and Spain’s war with England saw the decline of Santiago as a place of pilgrimage.  In 1589 Sir Francis Drake attacked La Coruna, and in a panic the Bishop of Compostella took the cathedral’s relics away to a place of safe-keeping.  The relics got lost and remained so for the next 300 years; they were rediscovered only in 1879.  The recovery of the route began at that time but it is during the last quarter of the 20th century, when the authentic contemporary resurge of the pilgrimage took place.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours:  The Dome of the Cathedral

At that time, the pilgrims identified themselves by wearing a uniform of heavy cape, sandals and a felt hat turned up in front and bearing the scallop-shell emblem of St James.  The adoption as the emblem of pilgrimage is said to date back to the crusade against the Moorish invaders.  The Lord of Pimentel was forced to swim across a river and miraculously emerged on the other side covered in scallop shells, which were taken to be the emblem of St James.  Today, few pilgrims continue this wardrobe tradition but the scallop shell remains a strong symbol of the pilgrimage.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: The Symbol of the Pilgrimage

Santiago de Compostella was captured and sacked by the French during the Napoleonic Wars.  As a result, the remains attributed to the apostle were lost for nearly a century, hidden in one of the crypts of the cathedral.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: Inside the Cathedral - Santiago de Compostella, Spain

One outstanding thing in this ancient city is its stunning buildings and monuments and more particularly its majestic cathedral.  Emerging from Calle Franco into Santiago's cathedral  square an incredible sight awaits you.  We were there mid-November and despite some rather cool temperatures tourists and pilgrims were visiting the place.  One can imagine what it must be like in the middle of the tourist season.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours:  A window in the Cathedral

Santiago has many parks and gardens and green areas are everywhere, not only within the city, but also in its surrounding area, where mountains and forests with luxuriant vegetation await.  We visited a park near the cathedral and shared that place with the tourists and locals.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours:  The park near the Cathedral

Gastronomy is an active part of the culture of the city.  We found an amazing range and number of restaurants, bars and taverns, with prices to cater for every budget.  Quality is what they all have in common and you can eat well.  We selected a place for lunch and inside, the convivial atmosphere, a fast and attentive service, the regional products, especially seafood and beef were plentiful, well prepared and most tasty.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: Our Restaurant that day

Some people might probably think that I did the Santiago experience the wrong way.  Usually, pilgrims will keep the city as the last stage of the Walk.  I have been known to do things differently.  Regardless, my passage to the city of Saint James has remained a memorable moment for me and who knows one day, you might find me on the “Walk” somewhere.