Santiago de Compostela, with about 100,000 inhabitants, is the capital of Galicia and one of Christianity's three great holy cities, alongside Rome and Jerusalem. It is the goal of the Camino de Santiago, walked every year by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. Its entirely granite old town has been a UNESCO site since 1985.
History and legend
According to tradition, the apostle James the Great preached in Hispania and, after his martyrdom in Jerusalem, his body was brought by disciples to Galicia. In the early ninth century the hermit Pelagius saw lights in a field, the campus stellae from which the name Compostela may derive, and Bishop Theodemir discovered the tomb. King Alfonso II of Asturias built a church there and the city grew around the shrine. Destroyed by Almanzor in 997, it was rebuilt with the great Romanesque cathedral. Santiago is also a university city, with a university founded in 1495 (see the university).
The cathedral
The Romanesque cathedral, begun in 1075, is wrapped in the Baroque Obradoiro façade (1738-1750). Inside:
- Master Mateo's Pórtico de la Gloria (1188), a masterpiece of Romanesque sculpture, restored to its original colours (see Romanesque);
- the Baroque high altar with the statue of the apostle, which pilgrims embrace from behind, and the crypt with the silver casket of relics;
- the botafumeiro, a huge censer weighing over 50 kilos which eight men, the tiraboleiros, swing almost up to the transept vault during some solemn masses;
- the rooftops, visited with a guide, overlooking the city, and the cathedral museum.
The pilgrims' mass is held every day at noon.
What to see
- Plaza del Obradoiro, one of Europe's finest squares, with the Hostal dos Reis Católicos, a former pilgrims' hospital now a Parador, the Raxoi palace, home of the City Hall, and the college of San Xerome.
- The squares around the cathedral: Praza da Quintana, with the Holy Door, opened only in Holy Years, Praterías and Inmaculada.
- The arcaded streets of the centre, Rúa do Franco, Rúa Nova and Rúa do Vilar, full of bars.
- The Mercado de Abastos, where you buy seafood and Galician produce to have cooked in nearby bars.
- The monastery of San Martín Pinario and the convent of San Francisco.
- Alameda park, with the most famous view of the cathedral, and Álvaro Siza's Galician Centre of Contemporary Art.
- The City of Culture, Peter Eisenman's vast complex on Mount Gaiás.
Food and tips
Galicia is the land of seafood, pulpo á feira, empanada, tetilla cheese, Padrón peppers and tarta de Santiago, the almond cake bearing the apostle's cross (see Spanish cuisine). It rains often in Santiago, even in summer: bring an umbrella. On 25 July, the apostle's feast, the main festivities include fireworks over the Obradoiro. Holy Years fall when 25 July is a Sunday: the next is 2027.
Getting there
Santiago-Rosalía de Castro airport has flights from Madrid, Barcelona and several European cities. High-speed trains link Santiago with Madrid in just over three hours and with A Coruña and Vigo. From here you can reach Finisterre and Muxía on the Costa da Morte, the Rías Baixas and A Coruña.