Get to know the pilgrimage routes of Santiago de Compostela following the Porto paths

The celebrations of the Xacobeo, the Holly Year for the Catholic tradition, are extended to Porto, this time with a thematic promotional video, devoted to the pilgrimage routes of Santiago de Compostela, named after the Apostle, that cross the city of Porto.

The video illustrates the roadmap of the ‘Camino’ by a pilgrim of Route of Santiago de Compostela, a Catholic tradition that is always marked on 25 July, leading to a voyage from the present to the medieval times. This is the perfect opportunity to get to know the iconic Porto Historic Centre, namely patrimony, religious and touristic features of the city, as monuments, and churches with motifs inspired by Santiago. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is in Galicia, in north-western Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the saint are buried.

The promotional video is, also, a support guide to wannabe pilgrims, featuring the Pilgrim Support centre at the Capela das Verdades, shelter, where to stamp one’s pilgrim credential and the resting points. This information is delivered throughout the explanatory promotional video.

The highlights are the aerial view on the Portuguese pavement at the Praça de Carlos Alberto, shaped in a scallop format, the symbol of the pilgrim of Santiago de Compostela, which is telling of the importance of the spiritual and cultural Santiago’s roadmap to the city of Porto, a route crossed by the pilgrims in the Invicta for centuries, and still walked by thousands of people.

This is another initiative in the scope of the celebrations of the Xacobeo year, which will extend until 2022, owing to the pandemic.

In June, Porto hosted the Roadshow Xacobeo 21-22, at the Praça de Parada Leitão promoted by the Xunta da Galicia.

Moreover, the celebrations include a wide range regatta, with a stopover in Porto between 17 and 19 July 2022.This maritime race is called Iacobus Maris, and it will recreate the voyage by the body of Santiago Maior for four countries. The boats sailed out of Jafa, in Israel, with 70 feet long boats that crossed the Mediterranean Sea heading to Genoa. This was the starting point for a huge fleet of sailboats to sail out to Valencia, on 24 June, where they arrived on 1 July. From there, they headed to the South of Spain, navigating the Guadalquivir River, and docked in Seville, two days later.

On 10 July, the entourage will finally head to Porto, sailing up the River Douro, where they will arrive on 17 July 2022 and will be docked for two days, allowing visits by people in Porto.

The maritime voyage concludes a week later, in Vigo, and then by land, the delegation shall arrive in Santiago de Compostela, on 25 July. Celebrations are promoted by the Xunta de Galicia to honour São Tiago, also known as the Holy Jubilee Year or Holy Year Compostela. This event only takes place when the 25 July lands on a Sunday. It has been so since the 12th century.

The video ‘Caminhos de Santiago’ no Porto are part of a set of 22 thematic promotion videos that the Municipality will launch until the end of 2022, with the goal of validating and disseminating the city potential, as well as promote it bot at national and international levels.