The pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela is a spiritual journey that pilgrims have traveled for over a thousand years. The Way of Saint James emerged as the most traveled pilgrimage route because it offered medieval pilgrims a safer passage than the perilous trip to
By the 12th and 13th centuries, half a million pilgrims made their way to and across northern Spain and back each year. The Kings of Aragon , Navarre and Castile built hospitals, hostels, roads and bridges to accommodate them.
The city ofSantiago became the first major thoroughfare of Christian Europe, a meeting place for people from all nations and different faiths, an intersection for spiritual, economic and cultural growth stimulated by millions of pilgrims.
The city of