![]() The entire pilgrimage from Le Puy, in south-central France, to Santiago, in northwestern Spain, is around a thousand miles (sixteen hundred kilometers) and takes about two and a half months. The Le Puy to Santiago route is indicated by a straight line, the other three traditional routes by dashed lines. Sometimes they took advantage of the Roman and medieval road systems, and at other times they completely disregarded the practical in pursuit of the sacred. The exact roads were based on a combination of simple geographic logic and the strength of attraction of whatever holy places happened to be in their general vicinity. ![]() This is the route that I took and that I have in mind when I describe the pilgrimage.Īlthough a medieval pilgrim from north of the Pyrenees might follow any route he or she chose to Santiago, the twelfth-century Pilgrim's Guide tells us that pilgrims traditionally followed four main routes, all of which eventually joined in Spain at Puente-la-Reina. It's also the route with the best-preserved pilgrimage churches from the Romanesque period and the one taken by the vast majority of pilgrims today. While modern guide books exist for all four routes, by far the most beautiful is the one from Le Puy, in the heart of the Massif Central. But on the basis of the twelfth-century Pilgrim's Guide, there are said to be four classic starting points. The pilgrimage to Santiago can begin from anywhere. It doesn't take much, but it must all be done. ![]() The pilgrimage is not free of contradictions, however, and one of its many little ironies is that the first step toward this state entails a certain amount of very practical preparation ahead of time. In order to be receptive to this experience, the attitude of the pilgrim has to be free, spontaneous, unstructured. On this journey, every day has the potential of presenting something completely new. ![]() The pilgrimage to Santiago is a journey like nothing else you've ever done. ![]()
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