Santiago de Compostela and the tomb of the apostle James

In Galicia, in the far north-west of the Iberian peninsula, a granite cathedral holds what tradition identifies as the tomb of Saint James the Great, one of the twelve apostles. Around this tomb arose, in the Middle Ages, one of the three great pilgrimages of Christendom, alongside those of Rome and Jerusalem. The city that bears the apostle's name, Santiago de Compostela, is still the destination of hundreds of thousands of people every year.

The discovery and the legend of the translation

According to the traditional account, at the beginning of the ninth century a hermit named Pelagius saw mysterious lights above a wood. Bishop Theodemir of Iria Flavia had the place investigated and an ancient tomb was found, identified as that of the apostle. Alfonso II, King of Asturias, had a first church built on the spot. The popular etymology of Compostela as the field of the star is linked to this account, but linguists also propose other explanations.

The legend also explains how the body of James, martyred in Jerusalem around AD 44 according to the Acts of the Apostles, came to Spain. His disciples are said to have placed it on a boat which, guided by angels, landed on the Galician coast. Historians regard this translation as a tradition without ancient documentary support, but its weight in the religious and political history of medieval Spain was enormous.

The Romanesque cathedral and the Pórtico de la Gloria

The present cathedral was begun in 1075, under Bishop Diego Peláez, and became one of the models of the great pilgrimage churches, with an ambulatory and radiating chapels to receive the crowds. Its Baroque facade, called the Obradoiro, was built in the eighteenth century and encloses the medieval structure like a casket. From the great square in front, where the routes end, the facade looks like a towering stage backdrop, with statues of the apostle and his disciples.

Inside is the Pórtico de la Gloria, a masterpiece of Romanesque sculpture by Master Mateo. An inscription on the lintel records its installation in 1188. The portico depicts the Christ of the Apocalypse surrounded by the evangelists and the twenty-four elders with musical instruments, so detailed that scholars have used them to reconstruct medieval instruments. Beneath the central pillar sits the apostle, greeted by pilgrims at the end of their journey.

The botafumeiro and the rites of the cathedral

The cathedral's most famous symbol is the botafumeiro, a huge silver censer hanging from the vault of the transept. During certain celebrations a group of men, called tiraboleiros, set it in motion with a system of ropes and pulleys, making it swing from one side of the nave to the other amid clouds of incense. In the Middle Ages, according to a widespread interpretation, it also served to freshen the air of a church crowded with pilgrims.

Beneath the high altar a crypt holds the silver urn with the relics, which pilgrims visit after embracing the statue of the apostle. In 1884 Pope Leo XIII confirmed the authenticity of the relics found during excavations a few years earlier. The historic centre of the city has been a World Heritage Site since 1985, and the cathedral remains the heart of a pilgrimage that has never ceased to renew itself.