Mancomunidad Vigo

It is traditional to speak of the Pilgrim’s Route to Santiago when referring to the path that enters Spain through Roncesvalles to reach its goal at the Cathedral of the Apostle. That is the historic Route, the one that has brought hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to Galicia.

However, pilgrimage paths are not traced out officially but are made by the pilgrims themselves. Little by little they have left their mark on other routes that had Santiago as their destination. Some came in from the north, perhaps after having disembarked from Great Britain or Ireland. Others came from the south, following the Ruta de la Plata from Andalucía. The number of pilgrims wanting to reach Santiago from Portugal also increased.

The Portuguese Pilgrim’s Route passes through the Atlantic Lands, although it would be more exact to speak of Portuguese Pilgrim’s Routes, as there are three of them. Two of them pass through Vigo and one, the most traditional, enters through Porriño and continues through Mos, Redondela and Soutomaior to Pontevedra.

Between Porriño and Redondela, the pilgrim would, on some occasions, follow the valley of the River Louro and, on others, the valley of the Galleiro, which at 744 metres is the highest summit in the district. This stage crosses the flattest part of the municipality of Mos. Once in Redondela, the Casa de la Torre, or Tower House, is the pilgrimage hostel for those spending the night in this town of viaducts. The route continues from here along the most inland part of the coastline of Vigo Bay, which it crosses at Arcade, where we meet the Verdugo river at Pontesampaio, a municipality of Pontevedra. The route then continues until it reaches Pontevedra Bay. There is then a slight ascent until we reach Pontevedra city, the capital of the province.

This route runs from the south to the north of Portugal like a backbone, going through Lisbon and Porto. However, there are two alternative routes that begin on Portuguese soil and change the itinerary taken through the first leg into Galicia.

The first of these itineraries is the Portuguese coastal route, which follows the same route as the ancient Roman Via XX, which Antonino’s Itinerarium called Per loca maritima. This route does not go to Tui, but instead jumps from Caminha to A Guarda, a common practice in the past when there were no bridges on the Miño between Galicia and Portugal and boats were used to cross the river. From A Guarda the route enters the Atlantic Lands at Baiona, continues through A Ramallosa to Nigran and Vigo and, goes from the city to Redondela where it joins the classical route.

A third alternative that is documented does not cross the river at Caminha but at Vila Nova de Cerveira, and the pilgrim enters Galicia at Goián. This route continues through Tomiño to Gondomar and from there to Vigo via Vincios. From Vigo it takes the pilgrims on the route along the coast and at Redondela all the paths join and head towards Santiago.

In order to earn the jubilee, that is, to gain the “Compostela” certificate for having completed the pilgrimage, a hundred kilometres must be made on foot or 200 if the journey is by bicycle or horse.

To gain access to the pilgrim hospitals or hostels, pilgrims must be registered as such at their starting out point, where they are given the credentials that must be completed with the stamps and signatures at particular points along the way. This makes it possible to claim the “Compostela”, a pilgrimage certificate issued by Santiago Cathedral, which, along with compliance with the rites in the cathedral, gives plenary indulgence.

In order to enter the cathedral by the Holy Door the itinerary must be made during a holy year, when the 25^th July falls on a Sunday. However, there are ever greater numbers of pilgrims making the journey whether it is a holy year or not. The holy years for the next fifty years will be 2010, 2021, 2027, 2032, 2038, 2049 and 2055.