Año Santo Xacobeo 2010 Galicia
Año Santo Xacobeo is the designation for those years in which the 25th of July (Saint Apóstol Santiago) coincide with a Sunday. This happens regularly each 6-5-6-11 years, which means that every century just 14 Años Xacobeos are celebrated. The first Año Xacobeo was established by the Pope Calixto II in 1126, the last have been celebrated in 1993, 1999 and 2004. The one after this year will be in 2021.
The celebration of the Año Xacobeo comprises a series of cultural and social events that you can check clicking on the following link: programacion2010.xacobeo.es
Galicia
Galicia is the Westernmost region in Europe, the Roman Finis Terrae, the beginning and the end of the pilgrimage to Santiago. It is a small universe of contrasts: it is the sea, the calm ría and the wild, cliff-lined coast; it is also the inland area with its rivers and springs, a green, exuberant and deep place – sometimes rugged and always welcoming.
Galicia is bounded by the Cantabrian Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in a rich and life-filled coastline that stretches 1659 km. It is on the Galician coast that we can find the unique Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park, made up of the Cíes archipelago in the river mouth of the Ría de Vigo inlet, the Ons archipelago in the Ría in Pontevedra, Cortegada Island opposite the port of Carril in Vilagarcía de Arousa, and Salvora Island, also located in the Ría de Arousa.
It is home to prestigious ports, amongst which is the largest fishing port in the world, located in Vigo. It also boasts first-class commercial ports and marinas, such as A Coruña, Ferrol, and Vilagarcía amongst the commercial ports and the Real Club de Yates de Baiona, the Marina de Sanxenxo, and the Náutico de Rodeira in Cangas, amongst the marinas.
Inland Galicia is the land of a thousand rivers and also a thousand mountains; elderly, eroded mountains with plains and deep valleys of which 66% are covered in woodland.
It is a land of traditions, with festivals and processions throughout the year, in particular the gastronomy-related gatherings, whether for seafood, cheeses, wines, bread, the empanadas (savoury pastries), the cuttlefish or any other delicacy that Galicians adore – and the countless summer festivals, such as those at Caldas, Guitiriz and Ortigueira.
The Galician infrastructure network links Galicia with the rest of the Peninsula and the high speed AVE train is also planned for this region, which should be up and running in 2015.
Santiago de Compostela
The Galician capital is known worldwide for being one of the most important spiritual pilgrimage centres for Christianity since the Middle Ages. In 1985, UNESCO declared Santiago de Compostela World Heritage Site for its great cultural and architectural richness.
Nowadays, with a population of 93.458 inhabitants (2007), Santiago has turned into a dynamic and young city. Very influenced by university life, Santiago offers a wide range of activities, art galleries, concerts, film festivals and above all the peace of its medieval streets that contrasts with the lively nightlife of the city.
Camino de Santiago
Despite being essentially religious in its origins, today, thanks to its cultural and landscape elements, it has turned into a route that brings together different peoples and cultures. This led to the Council of Europe declaring it the first European Cultural Itinerary and thus turned this ancient route in a way for art and spirituality.
There are several routes to go on a pilgrimage to Santiago, but the Way is not a goal in itself but the means to get to the goal: St James' grave.
Official routes
- The French Way, the most visited route nowadays, it enters the Iberian
Peninsula through Roncesvalles and gets into Galicia through O Cebreiro.
- The Northern Way, it goes along the Cantabric coast and enters Galicia
through Ribadeo.
- The Primitive Way departs from Oviedo and leads the pilgrim to Santiago.
- The English Way owes its name to the influx of British pilgrims that travelled
by sea, disembarked in A Coruña or Ferrol and continued from there by foot.
- The Portuguese Way goes through Portugal until it reaches Galicia via Tui.
- The Southeast Way - Silver Route, arrives from Sevilla, Mérida, Zamora and
enters Galicia through the province of Ourense.
For further information:
http://www.xacobeo.es/en
http://www.xacobeo.es/de
http://www.xacobeo.es/fr
