The North Way

PORTADAS en INGLES.qxp:30X21 26/08/09 12:51 Página 6 The North Way The Pilgrims’ Ways to Santiago in Galicia NORTE EN INGLES 2009•.qxd:Maquetación 1 25/08/09 16:19 Página 2 NORTE EN INGLES 2009•.qxd:Maquetación 1 25/08/09 16:20 Página 3 The North Way The origins of the pilgrimage way to Santiago which runs along the northern coasts of Galicia and Asturias date back to the period immediately following the discovery of the tomb of the Apostle Saint James the Greater around 820. The routes from the old Kingdom of Asturias were the first to take the pilgrims to Santiago. The coastal route was as busy as the other, older pilgrims’ ways long before the Spanish monarchs proclaimed the French Way to be the ideal route, and provided a link for the Christian kingdoms in the North of the Iberian Peninsula. This endorsement of the French Way did not, however, bring about the decline of the Asturian and Galician pilgrimage routes, as the stretch of the route from León to Oviedo enjoyed even greater popularity from the late 11th century onwards. The Northern Route is not a local coastal road for the sole use of the Asturians living along the Alfonso II the Chaste. shoreline. This medieval route gave rise to an Liber Testamenctorum (s. XII). internationally renowned current, directing Oviedo Cathedral archives pilgrims towards the sanctuaries of Oviedo and Santiago de Compostela, perhaps not as well- travelled as the the French Way, but certainly bustling with activity until the 18th century. These pilgrims came by land from France, or by sea from Atlantic nations such as England, Flanders, Germany and Scandinavia, reaching Photography the ports of the Basque Country and Cantabria. Texts Arquivo da S.A. de Xestión Translation They would then set out on their journey towards Francisco Singul do Plan Xacobeo Interlingua Traduccións S.L. Pedro García Claire Teed Olson the sanctuary of San Salvador of Oviedo Editing Tono Arias and the cathedral of Santiago. Ana B. Freire Revision and updating Rosa García Technical advice Carraig Linguistic Services Dpto. de Arquitectura da Once they reached Castropol, the pilgrims either had Documentation: S.A. de Xestión do Plan Xacobeo Design and Lay-out to cross the “ría” –inlet– of Ribadeo by boat or travel pilgrims’ hostels and services Permuy Asociados Pilar Cuíña Revision along the right bank of the estuary to the bridge of Rosa Fernández Dori Abuín Printing Santiago de Abres, where they would enter Galicia. Ana B. Freire Carla Fernández-Refoxo LITONOR Rosa García Carmo Iglesias Coroni Rubio Alfonso Salgueiro D.L.: C 2654-2009 3 The North Way NORTE EN INGLES 2009•.qxd:Maquetación 1 25/08/09 16:20 Página 4 NORTE EN INGLES 2009•.qxd:Maquetación 1 25/08/09 16:20 Página 5 Antonio Lalaing, Lord of Montigny (1502), and the Italian pilgrim, Bartolomeo Fontana (1539). During the Baroque period, the North Way was used by many pilgrims who opted to chronicle their experiences and itineraries. Jakub Sobieski (1611), the father of King John III Sobieski of Poland, made the pilgrimage via the French Way to León, before taking a detour to Oviedo and taking the coastal route to Ribadeo and continuing on his way to Santiago along the North Way. Another Italian pilgrim, Sebastian Left: Bridge over the River Arnela Gatti reached Ribadeo by sea in 1698 and Right: Sobrado Lake The present-day journey has been simplified by the construction continued his journey on foot until arriving in of a bridge linking Asturias and Ribadeo. After arriving in Galicia, Santiago via the same route. In 1726 the French the pilgrimage route is well-documented: it started out from the town pilgrim, Guillermo Manier and his fellow of Ribadeo, which also had a port used by pilgrims, and continued pilgrims chose the North Way to make to travelling inland through the valleys of Vilanova de Lourenzá and journey back to France. In 1790 the Frenchman, Mondoñedo, crossing the high flatlands of Vilalba and Guitiriz, Jean Pierre Racq wrote a detailed account of and at the Monastery of Sobrado dos Monxes the pilgrims received his pilgrimage to San Salvador in Oviedo and to the hospitality of the monks, just before the route joined the French Way Santiago de Compostela via the North Way. in Arzúa. Just a few days’ travelling would finally bring them to Santiago The Galician stretch of this Way covers 170 and the tomb of the Apostle. kilometres between Ribadeo and Santiago and Among the thousands of pilgrims who travelled to Santiago via the is clearly signposted with stones decorated North Way, one figure who stands out is Saint Francis of Assisi. with a ceramic scallop shell and a vital piece of According to tradition, he made the pilgrimage to San Salvador in information for pilgrims: their exact location on Oviedo and Santiago de Compostela in 1214. In the late 15th century, the Way. In addition to the famous yellow arrow the Armenian Bishop Martyr of Azerbaijan made the pilgrimage to Rome of the Associations of the Friends of the Way, and Santiago using the North Way, which passed through the Basque these milestones make it easy for the pilgrim to Country, Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia. There are two chronicles dating find their way, as they appear in strategic from the 16th century recorded by pilgrims who travelled a similar route: locations such as at crossroads and turn-offs. Pasatiempo Bridge. Mondoñedo Pancha Island. Ribadeo 5 The North Way NORTE EN INGLES 2009•.qxd:Maquetación 1 25/08/09 16:20 Página 6 NORTE EN INGLES 2009•.qxd:Maquetación 1 25/08/09 16:20 Página 7 Ribadeo – Vilanova de Lourenzá The town of Ribadeo, an important tourist centre and the capital of the municipality, is the starting point of the North Way in Galicia. Ribadeo is perched on a natural lookout point, overlooking the ría –inlet– and is the gateway Porcillán Port. Ribadeo to the northernmost pilgrimage route, linking Way of Antiquity or a road dating from the early Middle Ages prior the sanctuaries of Oviedo and Santiago. to the 8th century, which was still frequented at the beginning of The town of Ribadeo is one of the most the pilgrimages and in later times. On leaving this coastal town, important strategic and tourist enclaves the route leads us to Ove, which still preserves a stretch of the on the northern coast and has long-standing medieval way, and then heads towards the parish of Covelas, connections with the Pilgrims’ Way to Santiago. passing through the villages of Valín and Pastoriza. In fact, it must be remembered that between the 13th and 18th centuries it was considered The North Way then heads towards Vilela, passing not far from to be the “protector of the Cantabrian Sea”. Cedofeita (“cito facta”, one of the settlements in the area dating from the early Middle Ages) and continues on to Lourenzá, going Its noble past has left a considerable number of through a number of small, quaint places that are rich in history architectural and historical monuments dating and tradition: Ponte de Arante –the site of a pilgrims’ hospital from both the late Middle Ages and the Modern founded in the 16th century; also has an interesting chapel with Era. One of the most outstanding monuments is frescos dating from the same period–, Vilamartín Pequeno, Left: Mural paintings. the parish church of Santa María do Campo, A Ponte. Ribadeo Vilamartín Grande, Gondán and O Corveiro. which originally belonged to the Franciscan Right: Raised granaries convent, and according to tradition, was founded in Ove. Ribadeo in 1214 by a disciple of Saint Francis. Also dating House of the Moreno Family. Ribadeo from the late Middle Ages is the convent of Saint Claire in Ribadeo, founded by nuns from Oviedo at the end of the 15th century, as well as the Chapel of the Trinity, from the 14th century, located on the lookout point known as the Atalaya. This lookout point was an important element in the defence system of the town between the 16th and the 18th centuries. The most emblematic civil buildings in Ribadeo are the Town Hall, which is a Neo-classical palace that formerly belonged to the Marquis of Sargadelos, and the Torre de los Moreno, a luxurious art-nouveau manor house that has been converted into a public library. The route out of Ribadeo follows “the Ancient Road of Lorenzana”, which appears as an “antique strata” on a certificate signed by King Silo (774), indicating believe that it was a Roman 7 The North Way NORTE EN INGLES 2009•.qxd:Maquetación 1 25/08/09 16:20 Página 8 NORTE EN INGLES 2009•.qxd:Maquetación 1 25/08/09 16:21 Página 9 Above: River Eo seen from Santiago de Abres Vilanova de Lourenzá, the capital of the municipality, is a town Below: Chapel of San Marcos da Cadeira packed with history, as its streets and squares sprang up around the charitable services and care offered by the Benedictine monastery founded by Count Don Osorio Gutiérrez (the “Saintly Count”) in the year 969. The present-day monastery of Vilanova Monastery of Vilanova de Lourenzá de Lourenzá is a grandiose Baroque building whose church was legacy of Lourenzá was enhanced with the chapel of designed in 1732 by Fernando de Casas Novoa, one of the great Our Lady of Valbanera and the magnificent altarpiece- architects of the Galician Baroque tradition of the first half of the reliquary from the monastery. The Neo-classical period 18th century. The elegant façade of the church designed by Casas has contributed the solemn architecture of the main Novoa between two solid towers may be interpreted as being the altarpiece and the polychromed wooden images crafted precedent to the design of the famous Obradoiro façade of the by the renowned Galician sculptor, José Ferreiro.

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