PSU Magazine Fall 2013

he modern Camino adheres closely to the well-trodden route of the Middle Ages, which in turn followed an old Roman trade route, the Via Triana. Where it is paved over by modern highways, alternative walking trails have been marked. We passed through the same villages, visited the same churches, crossed many of the same bridges as had millions before us. We were, quite literally, putting ourselves in the foot– steps of the past. The highlights of that past can be seen in the art and architecture of the Camino, in styles ranging from the early Romanesque, through the Gothic, to the High Baroque of the 18th century. The Romanesque style is the most evocative of the meaning of the pilgrimage in the late Middle Ages. The Christian worldview of the time-the terrors of hell and the glo– ries of the afterlife-was sermonized in stone for the mostly illiterate popula– tion. Like our medieval predecessors The pilgrim's path takes John Rosenberg toward the remains of a Spanish castle. The flowers in front of this 17th century church in Villafranca del Bierzo were worth a stop and a photograph. 16 PSU MAGAZINE FALL 2001 we were continuously confronted with the iconography of Saint James in two radically different images. One is of Santiago Peregrino, the benign sup– porter of pilgrims, most often por– trayed as a pilgrim himself. The other image is that of a warrior knight, San– tiago Matamoro , a symbol of the Christian reconquest of the peninsula from the Moors in the Middle Ages. e arrived in Santiago de Compostela on June 13. The city is certainly deserving of its UNESCO designation as a World Heritage Site; it is one of Europe's most beautiful, built of rich granite rock and combining a carefully protected medieval ambience with the modern life of a busy university city. John and I walked our bicycles into the magnificent Plaza do Obraidoiro, and looked up at the extravagant Baroque facade of the great cathedral. We were just in time for the noon pil– grim's mass and with hundreds of oth– ers, passed through the Portico de Gloria, which is carved with more than 200 biblical figures. Considered one of the most exquisite works of Romanesque art in existence, we would need to return at a quieter time to fully appreciate the stories it ,could tell. The central column of the portico supports a figure of Santiago Peregrino, below which is a sculpture of the Tree of Jesse. Here, pilgrims traditionally bow and pray before entering the cathedral-the last act of the pilgrim's progress. I took my tum and placed my hand on the column, my fingers fitting perfectly into the smooth hollows resulting from the millions before me who had done the same. For 15 days we had pedaled through an extraordinary variety of physical and cultural landscapes: the Basque country, the vineyards of La Rioja, the high plains of Old Castile, and the lush, green mountains of Galicia. Dur– ing our journey we were blessed with mild temperatures and clear skies. The professional geographer in me would attribute that to a persistent high– pressure system, but the pilgrim in me was much more satisfied with John's explanation: the benign protection of Saint Jame . D